Siblings
by iHateFridays
Summary: Having an S-Class hero as your older brother is not easy, and no one knows that better than Zenko. Everything from shopping to being outright kidnapped can happen. However, despite all the chaos, Zenko and her older brother always manage to pull through. One-shots! Mostly unrelated.
1. Zenko's new friend

**A/N: Hey! So, uh, I'm going through a OPM phase right now. XD Season 2 really made me love Metal Bat and his sister Zenko, so I decided to write some one-shots about them. Why not? XD There'll be other heroes in here too, of course. Most of the one-shots will be cute stuff. Idk we'll see how this goes.**

**Just a note, I haven't read the manga or webcomic, so if I get a fact wrong, forgive me lol. I personally am not going to read the manga/webcomic as it will spoil the anime for me, and I want to enjoy it. Though I have seen some things...**

**Well anyway despite all that, I hope you enjoy this! **

* * *

Having an older brother as a Class S hero, as all things did, had its ups and downs.

Zenko knew that better than anyone. Not a day went by at school where people gawked at her, their mouths hanging open like they were pretending to be zombies.

"_She's Metal Bat's little brother_," they whispered. "_The sister of a Class S hero!_"

At first, Zenko didn't mind it. She was getting attention from students and teachers alike. Everyone wanted to be her friend.

And then she realised they didn't want to actually be friends, they only saw a chance to get _popular_ through her.

Zenko hated it. She'd made 'friends' in the past, who'd _begged_ her to let them meet Metal Bat. She'd obliged, thinking that's what friends did for each other. After they'd gotten his autograph and taken a few pictures, they'd ditched her.

It got so bad to a point Zenko had to ask her brother specifically _not_ to wear his superhero costume when he came to pick her up from school, just so the crowds of fan boys and girls didn't clog up traffic.

Zenko didn't want to be known as 'Metal Bat's little sister', she wanted to be known as _Zenko_.

...

As usual, class was painfully boring.

Zenko was a diligent worker who did do her homework, but there were some classes she could not stand. Such as maths, for instance.

The teacher droned on and on about perpendicular angles or other such mathematical nonsense and Zenko couldn't care less. Or understand, for that matter. She copied whatever numbers were on the board, not knowing what any of them meant.

Well, she was much better than her brother when _he_ was at school. He got terrible grades and was in detention half the time, either for starting a fight or yelling at the teacher. It was easy to assume he could be called a 'trouble student'.

The teachers were relieved his sister wasn't so aggressive.

The teacher said something or other about a group project, making Zenko groan. She hated group projects, mainly because she ended up doing all the work, or was constantly pestered with questions about her brother. They seemed to act like she bragged about him 24/7.

She _rarely_ even talked about him, let alone brag. Why couldn't they leave her alone?

She already saw a mob of kids walking over to her. She glanced around for any other kids who didn't have a group, and spotted a young girl sitting by herself in the corner of the classroom. She looked like she was dreading this lesson even more than Zenko herself.

Bingo.

"I've already got a partner," Zenko told the mob. She pointed to the girl in the corner. "Right over there."

The kids looked stunned. Before they could say anything else, Zenko walked over to the girl in the corner. The girl looked up, surprised that someone actually wanted to commune with her.

"Hey, we're partners now," Zenko said.

"Okay…" the girl replied, her voice just above a whisper. She had pretty blue eyes, and curly brown hair that was almost light enough to be blonde. A pale red streak went through it. It was tied into a high ponytail with a little red poppy. Her face was covered in freckles.

"What's your name?" Zenko asked her. "Are you good at maths?"

"Poppy," the girl answered. She stared at her small hands. "And, I, um… not really."

"'Tis fine," Zenko replied, sitting in the seat next to her. Poppy fiddled with the strands of her long, curly hair. She noticed Poppy's notebook was covered in doodles of various things, mainly flowers. They were all incredibly detailed.

"Do you draw?" Zenko asked.

"Sometimes," Poppy answered, timidly, like talking tired her. "I'm not very good at it."

"What are you talking about?" Zenko asked. "Those drawings are awesome!"

Poppy flushed. "They're just doodles."

"Then I wanna see your _good_ drawings," Zenko said. "I bet they'd be amazing!"

Poppy's face had gone a deep crimson. "Um… sure, if you want… I'll bring my drawing book tomorrow."

Zenko nodded. "Can't wait! Anyway, we should get started on the project."

Throughout the lesson, Zenko learned that Poppy was also not a maths genius. She wasn't very good at writing and reading, either. However, working together seemed to solve the problem, and the project was well-underway. And plus, Poppy really knew how to make the project look pretty.

After class, Zenko decided to invite Poppy to play with her during lunch. Turns out, Poppy had no one else to play with, so she accepted. Poppy was a quiet but kind person, Zenko came to learn. She was fun to play with, and she had a big imagination.

Best of all, she treated Zenko like a normal person. She never asked about Metal Bat, just about Zenko herself. She was one of the few people at school that Zenko was starting to respect.

Then, the two got into a conversation about the end of the school day.

"Who picks you up after school?" Zenko asked.

"Usually my parents," Poppy said, then added quietly, "if they feel like it."

"If they... _feel_ like it?" Zenko asked.

"My sister sometimes picks me up," Poppy continued. Zenko noticed a strange, cold look came over Poppy's face for a brief moment.

"You have a sister?" Zenko asked.

Poppy nodded.

"Is she nice?" Zenko asked.

"Not really." Poppy said, an edge of hurt in her voice. She cleared her throat. "Who picks you up, Zenko?"

"Oh, usually my grandpa," Zenko replied. "Though, sometimes my brother does, too."

"That's nice," Poppy said, looking away for a moment. "Do you and your brother do anything together?"

Zenko nodded. "He takes me shopping. He also buys me ice-cream, since my grandparents won't let me have it." She scowled at the thought of how much healthy food her grandparents made her eat. Nothing but veggies and lean meat. Disgusting. They didn't take her shopping, either.

"That's… nice," Poppy replied, her voice cracking. She reminded Zenko of a radio: sometimes she was full of energy, but other times you could barely understand her. She stared at her hands, biting her lip.

"Can I tell you a secret, Zenko?" Poppy asked.

Zenko leaned forward. "Sure, what is it?"

"My sister is in the hero association as well," Poppy whispered.

"Really?" Zenko asked, eyes wide. "What hero is she?"

"Her name is Lily of the Three Section Staff," Poppy replied. "She's the Blizzard of Hell's personal assistant." She sighed. "She's not an S-Class hero. She's just some low rank B-Class hero, but… I still don't want people to... _compare_ me to her."

"Yeah," Zenko nodded. "I hate it when people compare me to my brother. Don't they know I'm stronger?" She grinned, flipping her hair.

Poppy chuckled.

"It's not funny," Zenko said, narrowing her eyes. "I actually am stronger than him. If he picks me up after school today, I'll show you."

Poppy raised her brow at Zenko's seriousness. Needless to say, she was hoping Metal Bat would show himself so Poppy could see Zenko kick his butt.

* * *

After school, both girls got lucky.

Badd was waiting outside the school gates as he always did when picking up his sister. He tried to pick her up as much as he physically could. Seeing her whole face light up with joy and surprise when she ran towards him at the end of the school day was the stuff he lived for.

From what she'd said about school, she didn't have many friends. Why, Badd didn't know. She was an amazing girl - she should've been queen of the school! Badd didn't want her to be lonely, definitely not. He was tempted to go up and threaten her entire class to be her friends, but realised she wouldn't want that. She'd want to make friends by herself.

So it was a pleasant surprise when he saw Zenko talking to another young girl her age as they approached the school gates. They were smiling at each other, like good friends would. Badd folded his arms, leaning against the school gate, as he always did when picking up his sister. The pose had become recognisable for her. He was wearing casual clothes and his hair wasn't in its pompadour, at the request of his sister. While he found the mob of children asking for his autograph endearing, it quite upset his sister, and adorable young fans aside, he didn't want her to be upset.

He still had his metal bat attached to his hip, though.

Zenko grinned wide when she saw him, and grabbed the arm of her friend. She dragged the young girl towards her brother.

"We got lucky!" Zenko told her friend. "He came!"

"Lucky, eh?" Badd asked, raising his brow. "Who's your new friend, sis?"

The friend immediately flushed under his gaze.

"This is Poppy," Zenko said. "She's a bit shy, but she's really nice. Say hi, Poppy."

"Hi," Poppy said, her voice so quiet Badd had to strain his ears to hear it.

"And this is my big brother, Badd," Zenko told Poppy, "but you probably know him as Metal Bat. Say hi, Badd."

"Hi, Badd," Badd replied.

Zenko slapped him.

"Okay okay!" Badd waved his arms. "Nice to meet you, Poppy."

Poppy nodded. The poppy on her head seemed to flower a little more.

"Anyway, so I was going to prove to Poppy that I'm stronger than you." Zenko said.

Badd actually looked nervous for a moment, though Poppy guessed he might've been putting up that expression for his sister's sake.

"Sis," he said. "You know that I-"

Zenko then proceeded to knee him in the guts, making him fall over.

"Wow," Poppy said, amazed. "You are stronger!"

"So strong…" Badd muttered, rolling around on the floor. "So proud…"

"Come on bro, get up," Zenko said, but not rudely. "You're embarrassing me!"

Zenko helped her brother get up.

"Dummy," she chided. She then proceeded to give him a big hug. Poppy didn't show it, but she suddenly found it harder to smile. Zenko was lucky to have an older sibling who actually cared about her.

Speaking of older siblings, she saw her older sister Lily standing a few meters away, hurriedly chatting to someone on the phone. Probably Fubuki.

Poppy frowned. She couldn't remember a time where Lily _wasn't_ on the phone.

"Poppy?" Zenko asked, catching Poppy out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," Poppy said, quietly. "My sister is here. I should go."

"Your sister?" Zenko asked, excited. "Can I meet her?"

"Um… sure," Poppy said, trying to keep up her smile.

Zenko noticed Poppy was leading her over to a smartly-dressed teen girl on the phone. Those business clothes sure did look expensive. The teenager had long, black hair tied back with a lily flower. A bright blue streak ran through her hair. In her free hand was a blue three-section staff. Zenko realised the girl was familiar from somewhere after all. She'd definitely seen her around the Blizzard of Hell.

From a distance, Poppy didn't look anything like her sister. Lily had dark hair and pale skin, while Poppy had brown-blonde hair and freckles.

When they stood together, however, they looked much more similar: same hairstyle, adjourned with flowers. They also had the same eyes.

"Sister," Poppy said, tugging on her sister's jacket.

"Just a minute," Lily said, raising her finger. "Yeah, so, I'll be there at 5 tonight. Yes. I can handle it. You can never have too many jobs."

Zenko and Poppy awkwardly waited for Lily to finish her phone call. After what seemed like forever, she finally did.

"We're meeting Fubuki in twenty minutes," Lily told her sister. She checked her watch. "We're already behind schedule, so we have to leave now."

"But sister!" Poppy argued. "I wanted to introduce you to my new friend!"

Lily briefly glanced over Zenko, like she was something silly a little kid had found and was showing their parents. "That's lovely, Poppy. Nice to meet you. Now if you excuse us, we have to go."

Poppy looked like she wanted to argue more, but her sister was already dragging her away.

Zenko just watched. It wasn't like her to be so quiet.

"Your friend seems nice," Badd told her.

"She is," Zenko replied. She paused for another moment, then stared at her hands. "Come on, bro. Let's go to the mall."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that. This won't be the last we see of Poppy and her sister. More will be revealed about their relationship. **

**Also, it was a toss-up between having Metal Bat raise Zenko by himself, or have guardians do it. I decided that having Badd raise Zenko by himself seemed a little too, uh, on the nose. So she has her strict grandparents taking care of her instead, while Badd is the one that takes her out and spoils her. I feel it fits the story more too, since Badd has to go to school as well lol. **

**Well, that's all for today! Thank you for reading. :) **


	2. Going to the mall

**A/N: Hey! Thanks for the positive response guys. :D I had a bit of trouble deciding which story to post next, since I didn't want too much exposure of the same characters... hope you still like this one tho. **

* * *

"Ooh, what do you think about this one, big brother?"

Badd grunted his response to the pink dress his sister was pointing at. He was already carrying three shopping bags, and boy they were _heavy_. Why Zenko wanted all this stuff, Badd didn't know, but he was happy to buy it for her. Some might say he was spoiling her, but hey, hero duties took up a lot of his time, and he knew his grandparents were strict on Zenko. She deserved a break, right?

"I like the red one, too," Zenko said, frowning thoughtfully at another dress. "Which one should I get?"

"How 'bout both?" Badd asked. Why not? Otherwise Zenko would have a meltdown over which dress she wanted.

Zenko excitedly picked up the two dresses. "Yes! That's a great idea!"

Badd slung the dresses over his shoulder, his sister skipping after him. After paying for those, the siblings visited a few more shops. Zenko seemed to want to visit every shop the mall had to offer, and only after trying on some high-heels that were way too big for her did she decide it was time for a break.

The siblings were walking over to a couch, when Zenko stopped and gasped, pointing at someone.

"Bro, look!" she cried. "It's Poppy!"

She was pointing to the young girl in question, who was standing nearby her older sister. Lily was on the phone, and Poppy couldn't have looked more bored.

"Poppy!" Zenko yelled. "Hey, Poppy!"

Poppy looked up, and her face lit up with joy when she spotted Zenko. The two girls waved at each other. They then ran over to give each other a hug. Badd was so moved his sister was making new friends he almost started crying. He blinked quickly and wiped his eyes when he saw his sister running back. She gave him an odd stare.

"Big bro, were you crying?" she asked.

"No way," Badd replied hastily. "How's your friend?"

"She's good," Zenko said. "Can she come shopping with us?"

"Sure," Badd replied. "She'd probably better tell her sister, though."

"Right," Zenko agreed. She turned to Poppy and yelled, "Hey, my brother says you can come with us, but you should ask your sister first!"

Poppy sighed. She walked over to her sister and tugged her sleeve.

"That's going to cost $1000," her sister said into the phone, seemingly ignoring Poppy. "Just add it to the group tab."

"Sister," Poppy, again, tugged on Lily's sleeve. "I'm going shopping with my friend and her brother. Is that okay?"

"Yeah yeah, that's great, have fun," Lily said while waving a hand dismissively, not even making eye-contact. She went back to discussing finances.

Poppy shrugged at Zenko. "Let's, uh, just go."

The kids (and teenage boy) visited many different shops. They tried on lots of silly clothes, some of which definitely did not fit them.

"Bro, take a picture of us!" Zenko told her brother, giving him her phone. The girls were wearing some very frilly and colourful dresses. Zenko put her arm around Poppy as Badd took a picture of them. He was almost brought to tears again since his sister and her friend looked so cute together.

Badd cursed himself. Why was everything his sister did so cute?

The girls saw some hero-inspired outfits which got them talking.

"Who's your favourite hero?" Zenko asked Poppy.

"I'm not sure," Poppy admitted. "Sweet Mask, maybe?"

"Sweet Mask is my favourite too!" Zenko cried. "Isn't he so cool?"

"That guy is so overrated," Badd grunted.

"No way," Zenko gushed. "He's so dreamy! I wanna meet him some day!"

"Me too," Poppy agreed, eyes glazing. Badd rolled his eyes. What people saw in that pompous idiot, he really didn't know.

* * *

"I need to go the bathroom," Zenko said, after the girls had gotten back into their regular clothes.

"It's right next door," Badd replied. "Want me to wait outside for you?"

"Nah, stay here," Zenko shook her head. "I'll be right back!"

She ran off to the bathroom, leaving Badd alone with Poppy. Poppy was staring wistfully at a mildly-expensive t-shirt.

"You want that?" Badd asked her.

"Huh?" Poppy jumped. "Oh, uh, no, I was just, um, looking."

Badd had been around his sister long enough to she was lying. "Hey, if you want it, I can get it for you. You've made my sister very happy - it's the least I can do."

"Really?" Poppy asked, her face once again lighting up. God, the excitement of children was contagious. Badd found himself smiling as well.

"Yeah," he said. "Don't you ever go shopping with your sister?"

The joy drained out of Poppy's face. "Not really. She's always too busy."

Badd tilted his head. "What about with your parents?"

"They don't want to," Poppy replied, her face sagging.

Badd was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Zenko coming back.

"Can we go get lunch?" she asked.

Badd nodded. The trio headed over to the food court. There were a ton of different places to choose from, but Zenko and Poppy wanted to go to some fast-food place.

"What are you girls gonna get?" Badd asked, as they waited in line.

"Burger," they both said, simultaneously. They started laughing.

Badd made it up to the register. The employee seemed a little distracted. Something about her seemed very familiar as well.

"What can I get you today, sir?" she asked.

"Wait," Poppy stared at her, and her eyes went wide. "Lily?"

"U-uh," Lily went bright red. "Maybe?"

"You work here?" Badd asked.

"Yep," Lily replied, still very red. She was wearing the restaurant's red and black uniform with the logo on her right breast pocket. A cap, also with the logo, was sitting on her head.

"You never told me you worked here, sister," Poppy said.

Lily shrugged. "Well, I only got the job last week. Why else did you think I wanted to come to the mall?"

Poppy groaned. "You already have two jobs!"

"Fubuki-sama needs the money so we can buy another car," Lily retorted. "The first one got destroyed by a monster."

"Of course, because _Fubuki-sama _said it," Poppy muttered.

Lily sighed. "Look, sister, I have customers to deal with. Are you going to order?"

"Whoa, girl, Lily," a random employee in the background laughed, taking a sip of his water. "You know these people?"

"Yeah," Lily replied. She pointed to the group. "That's my sister, her friend, and Metal Bat."

At the mention of 'Metal Bat', the employee began choking on his water.

"Damn it Christopher!" another employee yelled. "Not again!"

Lily sighed, the lily flower on her head deflating in defeat. "Just give me your orders."

After getting their food, Badd and the girls sat down at a table.

"So your sister works here?" Zenko asked. "Do you think she'll give us free food?"

"I hope," Badd muttered.

"She probably won't," Poppy said. "She takes her jobs very seriously. She won't give us free stuff just because we know her."

"Wow, she's harsh," Zenko said, eating her burger. "Uh, no offence."

"None taken," Poppy replied, quietly. She'd barely touched her burger, which sat in a sad pile with a small bite taken out of the side. Badd stared at her for a bit. He wasn't an expert on emotions, but he spent a lot of time around another little girl. He could tell something was up.

"You seem down," he told her. "You okay?"

Poppy nodded, pushing her food away. "I'm just… not hungry."

Badd didn't believe her, but he didn't push it. Kids were sensitive, after all.

After lunch, Badd took the kids to a playground in the centre of the mall. They spent some time running around, laughing, and having fun. They also spent time curled up inside a little tunnel, away from other screaming kids.

"Your brother is so cool," Poppy told Zenko.

"He's not _always_ cool," Zenko replied, waving her hand. "A lot of the time he's busy with hero stuff. And he _always_ cries at my piano recitals."

Poppy laughed. When she stopped, her voice had that hurt edge to it. "At least he's there."

There was a silence.

"Your sister seems cool too," Zenko said, quickly.

Poppy frowned. "She's not. She doesn't take me shopping, or hang out with me, or buy me stuff…" She sighed. "You're so lucky."

"I'm sure she really cares about you," Zenko replied reassuringly, putting on a smile.

Poppy's face sagged again. "I think she cares more about the Blizzard of Hell."

Zenko decided to change the topic. "We should have a sleepover sometime."

"A… sleepover?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah!" Zenko agreed. "My grandparents won't mind. Well, they might, but I'll convince them! We can stay up all night!"

Poppy almost smiled. "I'd like that."

The girls climbed out of the tunnel, still talking about sleepovers. Badd immediately felt nervous when he heard such discussion.

"You two wanna have a sleepover?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"At my house!" Zenko cheered. "We're gonna stay up all night!"

Badd wanted to laugh. They'd probably try to stay up all night, but fall asleep by ten. Kids were like that.

Suddenly, a familiar teen girl in a business suit ran up to the group, panting heavily.

"There you are!" Lily panted. "I've been! Looking all over!"

"Aren't you meant to be at work, sister?" Poppy asked.

Lily breathed out, grabbing her knees. "We finished early. Christopher got a heart attack when two other Class S heroes showed up."

Zenko gasped. "Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine," Lily replied. "He just has a weak heart." She looked up. "Anyway, Poppy, we need to go. Right now."

"What?" Poppy asked. "Why?"

"I can't explain," Lily said, firmly, but she let out a quick shiver. "We just need to go."

Poppy tilted her head. "Is it because of M-"

"Hey, thank you for looking after my sister, it's an honour to meet you, etc," Lily interrupted, quickly shaking Badd's hand. He just stared at her. "But we _really_ need to go. Have a nice day!"

Poppy kept protesting as Lily grabbed her hand and dragged her away.

"I feel like that's going to happen a lot," Zenko said.

Badd nodded. "Yeah. I get that."


	3. Finding Tama

**A/N: I wanted to write different stories for how the siblings could've got Tama. This one is more comedic, and it's just for fun. The other one, IF I decide to post it, since I have mixed feelings about it, will be more serious. **

**I don't ship Batarou (sorry guys), but I still thought it would be fun to write this. It's based off a comic I saw. I'm not sure if it's official, maybe it is? I can't link it here but you can find it on Pinterest somewhere lol. **

* * *

Zenko grabbed her brother's hand tighter as she saw a monster in the distance, across the river. Her brother was taking her home from school, and as usual, it had somehow become chaotic.

"Don't worry, sis," Badd said, using his other hand to hold up his bat threateningly. "That monster ain't comin' anywhere near us."

The monster fled at the dangerous tone in his voice. Badd swore he could see someone familiar over there as well, but they disappeared behind a tree. He ran his hand along his bat, gritting his teeth.

He was suddenly drawn to the sound of a horrified yelp from his sister.

"Huh?" he asked. "What's wrong, sis?"

Zenko whimpered and pointed to the river. In there was a box, floating gently on the surface. In the box were two kittens.

"Oh, shi-shiitake mushrooms!" Badd yelled. "I got it!"

The hero stripped down to his underwear and jumped into the river, his bat in-between his teeth. He speedily swam across the river, taking deep breaths as he approached the box.

He was not expecting to meet someone else also reaching for the box.

"Garou?!" Badd asked, his bat falling out of his mouth.

Garou frowned. "Metal Bat?"

"What the hell are you doin' here?!" Badd asked.

"I could ask _you_ the same question," Garou replied, raising an eyebrow. "I, for one, came to save these kittens."

"So did I," Badd replied. He glared at Garou. "And I'm getting 'em first."

"Ha ha," Garou laughed. "No you're not."

The two began fighting. Metal Bat swung his bat at Garou, who moved out of the way, quick as lightning. Garou splashed large streams of water in retaliation.

"Garou!" a young boy on the opposite side of the lake cried. Zenko swore she'd seen him in her class. Wasn't his name Tareo or something?

"What's taking so long?!" Tareo asked.

"Big brother!" Zenko scolded. "Don't use any violence!"

"I was here first!" Badd yelled. He swung his bat into the water, causing a big explosion of water. "Dragon thrashin'!"

"No, _I_ was!" Garou argued, coughing up some water. He began moving his hands quickly, creating streams of water. He launched his fists at Badd. "Water stream rock smashing fist!"

"Brother!" Zenko whined. "The kittens!"

Badd turned his attention to the box of kittens. They mewed helplessly.

"Ha!" Garou yelled, punching the hero in the jaw. "You really are just a stupid goon!"

Badd coughed up a mix of blood and water. He bared his teeth, whamming his bat into the water. He created a tidal wave, while grabbing the box of kittens. Garou disappeared into the water.

"Garou!" Tareo cried.

Suddenly, Garou emerged from the water, hungry for revenge.

"This isn't over!" he yelled, trying to punch Badd again. The hero held the box of kittens in the air, away from his reach. Garou launched his fist towards Badd, causing him to accidentally throw the box.

The kittens flew out like ballistic missiles. One landed in Zenko's arms, and the other landed in Tareo's.

Zenko gazed at the ginger kitten in her arms. It stared at her with big blue eyes, its fur somehow only a little bit wet.

"Hello, kitty," Zenko cooed, kissing its forehead. "What am I gonna name you?"

While Zenko cuddled her new friend, Tareo was happily petting the kitten on his side of the lake. Badd emerged from out of the water, trudging up to Zenko.

"I hate that guy," he muttered, coughing up some water. "Stupid mother fu- I mean, um, big dummy."

"Isn't she cute, big brother?" Zenko asked, showing Badd the kitten.

"Adorable," Badd grunted, trying to put his t-shirt on. The water all over him wasn't making it much easier.

"Can we keep her?" Zenko pleaded.

Badd sighed. "Look, Zenko, you know Grandma and Grandpa won't allow it. They-"

"But she's sooooooo cute!" Zenko interrupted. "Look at her face! And besides, I think she likes you!"

Badd had to admit, the little ginger kitten was adorable. She was soft and fluffy as well, and Badd couldn't help but smile at her. And then he remembered his grandparents again.

"She is really cute," Badd said, wistfully, "but Grandma and Grandpa hate animals. They'd never let us keep her. Sorry, sis."

Zenko began crying.

"No no, don't cry," Badd said quickly, waving his hands. "Look, um, we can take her to the animal shelter, and you can visit her there whenever you want. How about that?"

Zenko cried harder, hugging the kitten closer to her body.

Badd muttered a curse under his breath. "Um, I, uh…" He ran his hands through his hair. This was one of the times being a big brother was not fun.

"Okay, okay, fine!" he said, waving his hands with exasperation. "I'll talk to Grandma and Grandpa, and try to convince them to let us keep her."

Zenko cheered.

"They might say no," Badd warned.

Zenko began crying again.

"Okay okay! They _won't_ say no," Badd corrected himself. Ah, great. Now he had to convince his animal-hating grandparents to let them keep a pet. This was going to go down well.

"Yayyyy!" Zenko cheered. "Welcome to the family, kitty!"

Across the river, Tareo was petting his new friend. Garou squeezed the water out of his shirt.

"Almost had him, damn that bastard," he grumbled, giving the stink-eye to Metal Bat.

"He's so cute," Tareo gushed, the kitten purring. "Can I keep him?"

"Well, kid, that depends," Garou shrugged. "Can you look after him?"

Tareo nodded eagerly. He hoped his parents would feel the same way. If not, he could always get Garou to convince them.

* * *

It took a lot of convincing, bribing, and pain, but he actually did it: Badd convinced his grandparents to let them keep the kitten.

Of course, there were conditions:

1\. Badd would have to pay for all the cat-food, kitty litter, vet bills, and so on.

2\. Badd (and Zenko) would be responsible for cleaning up after the kitten. This included toilet-training. (Oh boy, Badd was _not_ looking forward to that.)

3\. Badd and Zenko would have to be the ones to entertain her if she got bored.

4\. If the kitten knocked over something expensive, Badd would have to pay for it. (Badd really hated this one.)

5\. The kitten was not allowed to enter the grandparents' rooms.

6\. Many more annoying regulations…

"And if even one rule is broken, she'll be going straight to the pound," the grandmother threatened. "Understand?"

"Yes, Grandma," Badd replied, nervously. That kitten was really going to keep him on his toes. But she'd have to stay around, otherwise Zenko would have a temper tantrum and give him the cold shoulder for ages. And God, there wasn't anything more frustrating than a little girl giving you the cold shoulder treatment.

Badd entered his sister's room, where she was sitting on her bed with Tama, a big smile on her face. She looked so happy that even though the vet bills were probably going to be a nightmare, it'd be worth it for that smile. And besides, that little kitten was adorable. If only she had a name...


	4. Girlfriend?

Carly Diamond was easily the 'Queen Bee' of the school.

She was popular, pretty, and had had _many_ different boyfriends. She turned heads, made jaws drop. She'd dated most of the school's 'hottest' boys by now. She could be called a player, or even something much more derogatory, but she didn't care. She'd got the school wrapped around her finger. She lived for that popularity. To her, it was like a drug. She was the queen, and the school was her castle. Right now, she had her eye on a new target. Her future boyfriend.

The Class S hero, Metal Bat.

She'd be even more popular if she managed to become his girlfriend. Yes, the whole _world_ would know about her! She'd basically be seen as a Class S hero herself!

Carly began to put her plan into action. She stalked Metal Bat around from class to class, staying inconspicuous as possible. Normally she was not good at being sneaky - she liked to be the centre of attention. But she could make an exception! Her whole world was about to be changed, after all.

Carly had to admit, Metal Bat acted like a delinquent. Heck, he _was_ a delinquent. He was very loud, and got into fist-fights with other delinquents. He was definitely no teacher's pet; he was what you'd call a 'problem student'. Carly didn't mind, though. She thought it was hot! She definitely wanted a bad boy as her boyfriend.

At the end of the day, she saw the hero talking to some of his friends. Most of them were goons, but there was one sassy-looking girl. Whatever. They were all losers. Once Carly was dating Metal Bat, she'd convince him to ditch them. They seemed to be talking about what they were doing over the weekend, and places they'd be visiting. Carly smirked.

Perfect.

Suddenly, she saw Metal Bat racing out of the school at top speed. She sighed. She'd never catch up with him now. So she decided to try plan B. She approached his friends, flicking her hair.

"Hello, gentlemen, and lady," she said in a seductive tone, hastily adding the last part. She brushed her hair through her fingers and blinked daintily.

"Whaddya want?" one of the goons asked. She saw him looking at her chest for sure, and smirked.

"Well, I've got a little question for you," she said, smiling sweetly. "Answer it, and you'll be in my debt."

"What is it, then?" the girl asked.

"I saw you and your dear _friend_ Metal Bat having a nice conversation moments ago," Carly replied, "and, well, I was just a little curious, but… where is Metal Bat going to be this weekend?"

The girl scowled. "Oh. Ugh. Not another one."

The boys shook their head in disappointment.

"Aren't you going to tell me?" Carly asked, grabbing the top of her school shirt and leaning forward. "I'd really love to know."

"No way," a boy replied. "Metal Bat may be a Class S hero, but he deserves some privacy."

"Aww, come _on_," Carly said, puckering up her lips. "If you do, I'll reward you handsomely."

"Get lost," a different boy scoffed.

Carly clenched her fists. "Excuse me, I-"

"Let me guess, you wanna ask him out," the girl interrupted.

"How did… how did you know?" Carly asked.

"You're not the first," the girl sighed. "We've had tons of people asking us all about Metal Bat. And, I'm just gonna say, don't even bother asking him out. He's going to say no. He's not interested."

Carly laughed, rudely. "No one can resist me! I'm the Queen Bee! He's probably had feelings for me all along - after all, who hasn't?"

The friends started laughing.

"What are you all laughing at?!" Carly snapped.

"You," a boy said, through tears of laughter. "You're just… so _stupid_!"

"What?!" Carly screamed.

The girl wiped her eyes. "Look, it doesn't matter if you're 'Queen Bee' or not, he's _not_ interested. Lots of different types of people have asked him out and he always says no. You're no different."

Carly cried out in pure rage, looking like she was about to punch the girl in the face. The group stopped laughing.

"How about this?" Carly growled. "I'll make a deal with you idiots, just to prove how confident I am. I will ask out Metal Bat on the weekend, wherever he is. If he says yes, you all have to become my personal servants for the rest of the year."

"You really are crazy," the girl said, raising her brow. "Fine, then. If Metal Bat says no, you have to stop harassing people, never bother us again, and just stop being a horrible person in general."

"And also give us all 500 yen," a boy added.

"That too," the girl agreed.

"Then do we have a deal?" Carly asked, smirking.

"Yeah," the girl said, smirking back. "We have a deal."

The ladies shook hands, glaring at each other.

* * *

Ah, the mall. This place had driven Badd up a wall more than once, he'd admit. Slow walkers, shop employees in your face, trying to get you to buy some 3 million yen pair of shoes, and of course, complete strangers asking for your autograph. Badd didn't mind giving out a few autographs, but _God_, those slow walkers. Didn't they know anything about speed?

Naturally, all worries went away when he saw his sister jumping up and down with excitement at all the dresses she could try on. How could he resist that cute little face?

The siblings were currently at some fancy dress store, Eternally 22 or something, and Zenko had run off to look at some colourful skirts. Badd was about to follow her, but he was interrupted by a shrill, high, voice screaming:

"Ohhhh Batty-dear!"

Out of nowhere, some girl around Badd's age wrapped her arms around him from behind. He jumped. His hero instincts kicked in and he almost whacked her with his bat. Seeing she was instead just some random girl, he just shoved her off. She seemed to be some very revealing clothing, and making quite a fuss by bouncing on her toes. A lot of people were staring.

Carly smirked. Excellent. With all these witnesses, Metal Bat would have to say yes to her! If he didn't, she'd simply paint him as an abuser. And with all these strangers watching, news would spread fast. She would _win_. She always did.

"What the Hell?!" Metal Bat asked, staring at her. "Who are you?"

The girl looked mortified. "You don't recognise me, Batty-poo?"

"Don't call me that," Metal Bat growled. He frowned, and crossed his arms. "Uh… yer in one of my classes, right?"

Carly was horrified. Was he really that out of the loop?

"I'm Carly Diamond," she replied, "Queen Bee of the school!"

Metal Bat kept frowning. "Never heard of ya."

Carly gritted her teeth against her frustration. "Well, that's a shame. I am the most popular girl in school."

"Yeah, sure, great," Metal Bad said, turning away. "I gotta find my-"

"Wait!" Carly desperately grabbed his arm again. "I wanted to ask you something."

Metal Bat groaned internally, shaking her arm off. "What is it?"

"Well, you see, my house is free this weekend," Carly gushed, leaning towards him. She lowered her voice to a seductive whisper. "If you came over, we'd be all alone."

Metal Bat groaned externally.

"Are you askin' me out?" he asked. "How many times do I have to tell you girls? I'm not interested!"

"Oh, but I'm not like other girls," Carly insisted. "You'd have so much _fun_ with me."

"I said _no_, lady," the hero replied, turning away. "Now, _please_, leave me alone."

Carly held up her hand. "But-"

"Hey!" a young girl squeaked. "He said no! Go away!"

Carly glared at the young girl, who happened to be Zenko. Zenko glared straight back at her.

"Who let this little brat in here?" Carly scoffed.

Metal Bat glared at Carly, gritting his teeth so hard he thought they might shatter. It took all his willpower not to throw this infernal woman at the 3 million yen shoes.

"That's my little sister," he ground out.

Carly went bright red. "... oh."

She was surprised. Most older siblings found their younger ones rather annoying, but it seemed Metal Bat took a lot of offence to Carly calling his sister a brat.

Someone started snickering in the background. The laughter dragged Carly back into reality. She composed herself. If she couldn't win Metal Bat the normal way, she could get through to him using his sister. Perfect.

"Hello there, sweetie," Carly said, kneeling down to Zenko's height. "Aren't you the cutest little thing!" She held out some candy. "Would you like a lollipop?"

"No way!" Zenko replied, slapping the lollipop out of Carly's hands. "Besides, Big Brother says I shouldn't take candy from weirdos."

Carly spluttered. _Weirdo_?

"Now go away!" Zenko repeated, grabbing onto her brother's arm. "You're interrupting my shopping time!"

Carly cursed the world, her face going an even brighter red. There was no going back now. It was time for the final straw, her trump card.

She turned on Metal Bat. "You sick freak! You think you're all that? Wait until I tell them how you assaulted me!"

"What the Hell did you just say?!" Metal Bat asked.

Carly held up her phone and walked over to Metal Bat. She kept her voice low. "I've been taking pictures of us. With a little Photoshop magic, your career is ov-"

Someone threw a shoe at Carly's hand, causing her to yelp and drop the phone in surprise. The girl from Metal Bat's school emerged from behind the clothes rack.

"You?!" Carly screamed, glaring at her.

"Luminare?" Metal Bat asked. "What are you doin' here?"

"Saving your butt," Luminare replied. She picked up Carly's phone, and glared at the girl in question. "Hey, I win, so you can't ask me to give this back to you."

Carly roared in rage. She chased after Luminare, screaming curse words. They ran out of the store. There was an awkward silence. Even the witnesses didn't say anything.

"Badd, what just happened?" Zenko asked.

"I have no idea," Metal Bat replied, wiping his eyes. "Let's just get out of here, Zenko."

After paying for Zenko's new clothes, the siblings walked out of the store. Zenko found herself pondering a question. She grabbed her brother's free hand.

"Why don't you want a girlfriend, big bro?" she asked.

"I don't have the time," Badd replied. "I've gotta do hero stuff, school stuff, _and_ look after my baby sister. And besides," he smiled, and ruffled her hair, "you're the only girl I need in my life."

Zenko rolled her eyes. "You're so cheesy, big bro."

"Yeah," Badd laughed. "I know."


	5. Piano recital

**A/N: This is another one-shot based on a comic. It's actually based on an official comic by ONE. Hope you enjoy.**

**I can't post links on FFN unfortunately, but I found the comic on Tumblr. It's also on Pinterest. Just look up 'Metal Bat comic' or something and it should come up. **

* * *

'Nervous' was an understatement. And telling whom was more nervous was a downright challenge. Well, at least, not to the naked eye.

"You've practised, right?" Badd asked his sister, sweating profusely.

Zenko rolled her eyes, running her finger across the piano keys. "Of course I have, big bro."

"You remember all the parts, right?" Badd asked. If she didn't, that was okay. He'd remembered them too, and he could easily recite them to her.

Zenko sighed, staring at the all-familiar sheet of music. "Yes, Badd."

"Okay, good," Badd said, trying to soothe himself. It was fine. She remembered. She'd be fine. Still, he couldn't stop himself from pacing around. He didn't want his sister to embarrass herself on stage. She wouldn't - she'd trained so hard! But still...

"You're going to be there after school," Zenko asked, quietly. "Aren't you?"

That stopped Badd's pacing. Being a hero was a great job, but as with everything it came with a cost. Such as he never knew when he'd be called to action. This was usually the main topic whenever the siblings had a dispute. Zenko tended to have a meltdown when her brother was too busy with hero business to carry her shopping bags.

He didn't want to bring that up, though. He didn't want her to worry.

"Of course I will," he said, reassuringly. "Don't worry."

Zenko smiled at him, then took his hand. "Come on, bro. You're gonna walk me to school, right?"

* * *

Being a hero had its perks, too. Such as leaving school early.

Badd told his teacher that he had 'hero duties' to attend to. In actuality, he was going to buy a bouquet of flowers for his sister's performance, and still have time to run all the way to the venue. Luckily the florist wasn't too far away. After getting out of school, he bolted all the way there, still in his uniform. He burst open the doors, almost collapsing on some dandelions.

"Hello, sir," said the employee behind the counter. "How can I help you?"

Wait a second. That employee was… familiar.

"Lily?" Badd asked, staring at the employee.

"Um," Lily chewed her nails. "Hi, Metal Bat."

"You work here too?" Badd asked, bewildered. "How many jobs do ya have?!"

"Well, I poured coffee all over my 10000 yen jacket after, um, accidentally setting myself on fire," Lily explained, biting her lip. "Miss Blizzard got upset, so I told her I'd make enough money to buy three new jackets in a week to make it up to her. And so, here I am."

"Hold on," Badd stared at her. "Did ya say _accidentally setting yerself on fire_?"

Lily blushed. "It's a long story. A-Anyway, did you need help with anything?"

"Gimme the biggest bouquet of flowers you have," Badd replied.

A few minutes later, Lily was hauling over a giant bouquet of roses that actually looked bigger than her. She was drenched in sweat.

"Will…" she panted. "Will… these… do?"

"Yeah," Badd nodded. "Those will do."

Badd slung the flowers over his shoulder and bolted out. Lily stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Oh my God," she said. "An… An S Class hero remembered my name…"

And then she passed out.

Meanwhile, Badd got to the venue just in time. He stood outside the entrance to the place, and took a moment to breathe. That's when he noticed the fancy brass doors had a sign on them.

"Hm?" he asked.

_Plastic bags and such, which would cause any noise, may not be taken inside because the concert will be recorded. _

"What the…?" Badd asked, scowling. Great. He put the bouquet outside the door, and placed a quick note on it saying _DON'T STEAL OR I'LL KILL YOU! _

He then entered the audience seating, glancing at the stage where his sister would be performing. Right now, some other kid was playing on the piano. They were pretty good, but Badd knew Zenko was better. He sat down, breathing out nosily in relief. Some guy gave him a weird look.

"The hell you lookin' at?" Badd asked him.

The guy went back to minding his own business.

Finally, the kid was done performing, and the audience applauded them. Badd grabbed his pants leg in fright, sweat dripping down his face. Now it was his sister's turn.

"Please welcome Zenko to the stage!" the announcer yelled. The audience clapped as Zenko, with a flower in her hair, walked over to the piano. Badd, by far, was clapping the loudest. Finally, the clapping quietened down. Zenko began to play.

The sound was beautiful. Zenko played it so well, so smoothly. She'd improved so much from when she first began. Back then, she used to yell at the keyboard, and call it a lot of rude names. Now, like it was a lion, she'd tamed it. _Mastered_ it.

Safe to say, Badd was extremely proud of her. Maybe a little _too_ proud. He had a bad habit of… crying at his sister's piano recitals. And not just silent weeping. No, full on _bawling_. It tended to be disruptive and a little embarrassing.

_Don't cry, _Badd chided himself, sweating profusely. His eyes felt like they were going to explode. Scratch that, his whole _body_ felt like it was going to explode.

_Mustn't make any noise, _Badd thought. He pinched himself. A single tear slid down his face. _You've come a long way, Zenko…_

"That man is scary," a boy whimpered to his mother, gazing at the hero.

"Shh," she replied, "don't look."

Zenko swore she could hear her brother from down there. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and just continued playing. That guy was such an idiot sometimes.

Soon, she finished her song. She stood up and took a bow. The audience clapped, and as usual, Badd was the loudest, tears streaming down his cheeks.

* * *

Thankfully, no one had stolen the flowers, so Badd didn't need to beat anyone up.

Only until she was standing next to them did Badd realise the bouquet was actually bigger than Zenko herself. She didn't seem bothered though, grabbing the flowers and slipping them over her shoulder. Badd took her hand, using his other hand to carry his bat.

"Big bro," Zenko asked. "Did you cry?"

"Haha," Badd answered, "no way."

Zenko didn't believe that for a second. "Dummy. I totally heard you."

"No ya didn't!" Badd protested.

Zenko just rolled her eyes again.

"The flowers are pretty," she said. "Thanks, bro."

"Only the best for you," Badd said, smiling at her. "Y'know, yer friend's sister was workin' at the florist's."

"Really?" Zenko asked. "She sure does have a lot of jobs."

Badd nodded. "She's crazy."

"Hey, Badd," Zenko's tone became more sombre. "Do you ever think… Grandma and Grandpa will want to come to one of my recitals…?"

Badd frowned. "Oh, man… I don't know, sis. Ya know they hate goin' out. It's hard enough to get 'em to pick you up from school."

"They hate _everything_," Zenko muttered. "Why can't they be more like Mom and Dad were?"

Badd felt a pain in his chest. He squeezed her hand. "It doesn't matter, Zenko. _I'll_ come to as many of your piano recitals as I can."

Zenko didn't say anything. She just watched the clouds fly overhead, and enjoyed the smell of the roses. Hopefully, she'd win the concert. And maybe it would drag her grandparents out of the shadows.


	6. A supermarket surprise

It was a gorgeous day out in the city. Birds were chirping, tomato plants were growing. People were busily walking by, minding their own business. Zenko was no exception. She was waiting for her brother to show up so he could carry her shopping bags. He was late, as usual. He'd probably been held up by some kind of hero-related thing.

Zenko decided to just enter the mall herself since Badd was taking too long. It was just across the crossroad. What could go wrong?

Zenko began walking across the road. Time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, a car came speeding towards her. The driver had lost control of his car. He yelled out, trying to stop his car, but failed. Zenko turned around with horror. It was too close to run. She opened her mouth to scream…

… only to get pulled aside by a hero.

Zenko looked up at her saviour. He was completely bald. He had red rubber gloves and boots, attached to a yellow jumpsuit with a zipper on the front. A white cape billowed out behind him. He looked familiar; Zenko had seen him on TV. He was in Class B, she believed. Wasn't he meant to be a fraud or something?

"Whoa…" she gasped, staring up at him.

"Be careful around the road, kid," the hero warned. "Things can come out of nowhere."

He turned to walk away, but Zenko grabbed his cape.

"Wait!" she cried. "What's your name?"

The hero shrugged. "Oh, it's Saitama."

"Saitama," Zenko repeated. She smiled. "Thanks for saving me, Saitama."

Saitama nodded. "Sure."

He walked away, leaving Zenko staring in awe. Wasn't that guy a fraud? He didn't seem like a fraud to Zenko…

Zenko stood up, staring at Saitama's retreating figure. What a weird hero.

* * *

Shopping for a pet was hard, especially when you'd never owned one before.

Badd wandered around the supermarket for a while, looking for the pet products. Somehow, he kept ending up in the bathroom aisle. Zenko tugged his hand.

"You passed them, dummy," she said. "They're back that way."

"Right." Badd grunted. "You lead the way, then."

Zenko led her brother back to the pet food aisle. That's when Badd noticed some familiar faces.

"What the…" he muttered. He saw the Demon Cyborg, King, and a semi-familiar bald guy standing nearby the meat section.

"Hey!" Zenko jumped up in front of her brother. "Are you coming?"

Badd blinked. "Huh? Yeah. Comin'."

"Hold on," Zenko's eyes widened, heading over to the meat section. "Is that… the Demon Cyborg? And King? And Saitama?"

Before Badd could say anything, Zenko ran over to the heroes in question.

"Master," Genos said, holding up a pack of sausages. "Getting these, as well as the pork ones, will save you an extra 500 yen."

"Yeah, but the other ones are _so_ good," Saitama protested.

King sighed. "Can we hurry this up? I have a dating sim I need to update."

"Hey!" Zenko chirped, grabbing Saitama's cape. "Remember me?"

"Huh?" Saitama asked, staring down at her. "Who are you?"

Zenko pouted. "You don't remember me? You saved me from getting hit by a car."

Saitama frowned. "I did?"

"Master, I believe that is Metal Bat's younger sister," Genos told Saitama.

"Who's Metal Bat?" Saitama asked, scratching his head.

"_I'm_ Metal Bat," Badd said, walking over to the group.

"Oh hey," Saitama waved. "Aren't you the one that controls all the robots?"

"That's Metal _Knight_, Master," Genos corrected.

"Right," Saitama agreed.

"So, you guys all go shopping here?" Badd asked.

"Master Saitama wanted to get a specific kind of _meat banquet_," Genos explained. "He wanted to do it while the meat sale was still on. King and I came along to help him pick which meats would be suitable."

"Actually, I came along because I was _forced_," King muttered.

"What brings you to this supermarket, Metal Bat?" Genos asked.

"We just got a cat," Badd answered, "so we're gettin' pet stuff."

"But big brother got lost 'cause he's dumb," Zenko added.

Badd scowled. "Zenko!"

Zenko made a face. He sighed. If anyone else had called him dumb, he would've done their head in. She was unknowingly lucky.

"The pet aisle is that way," Genos said, pointing in said direction.

"Yeah, we got it," Badd replied. "See ya, weirdos."

"Wait, big bro!" Zenko chirped. "I've gotta get their autographs first!"

Badd sighed. He waited while King and Genos signed his sister's notebook.

"So, Baldy," he turned to Saitama, "you saved my sister from getting hit by a car."

Saitama scowled. Why did everyone have to call him that stupid name? "Maybe."

Badd glanced at his bat, leaning against the wall. "Hey. That… means a lot. So, uh, thanks."

Saitama shrugged. "It's what we heroes do, right?"

Badd just smiled. "Sure. When the Hero Association isn't throwing workloads on your ass."

"Big bro!" Zenko ran up to her brother. "You'll never guess what! Saitama has a group full of heroes!"

"That's cool," Badd said.

"Can I join it?" Zenko asked. Badd almost fell over.

"Whoa, kid," Saitama intervened, stepping in between the siblings. "My, uh, 'group' is full of _adults_."

"But it sounds soooo cool," Zenko whined.

"No way I'm lettin' ya join a group full of adults," Badd said, frowning.

Zenko pouted. "Please, bro?"

Badd scowled. "No."

Zenko began crying.

Badd began to panic. He kneeled down to her height. "Hey, whoa, don't cry! It's because… I don't want ya to be around… people ya don't know."

"But I _do_ know these people," Zenko whimpered. "King, the Demon Cyborg… Bang will be there, too. And the Blizzard of Hell!"

"They're adults," Badd repeated.

"I don't care!" Zenko argued. "Please, bro? They're not gonna do anything… _weird_. They just play video games and such."

"If you wanna play video games, then I can buy ya some," Badd said. "Ya don't need to join a whole group for it."

"But Badd," Zenko whimpered, "it's a hero group! And besides, Lily is there… sometimes."

Badd still didn't look completely convinced, so she put on her puppy-eyes.

Badd felt his will crumble. "Alright, _fine_, ya can go to this… _Saitama group_… but I'm gonna go with ya. And it's only gonna happen once. Got it?"

Zenko nodded eagerly. "It'll be great, big bro!" She held out her arms. "Piggy-back ride?"

Badd let her crawl onto his shoulders. He stood up as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The other three heroes, not used to seeing Badd being, well, affectionate, just stared at him.

"What are you all lookin' at?" he growled.

The heroes went back to minding their own business.

Badd grunted. He turned away, muttering curse words.

"Bye-bye!" Zenko waved at the heroes. She gasped. "Bro! I know what to name our cat!"

"What?" Badd asked.

"We'll call her Tama," she replied, "short for Saitama!"

"You really like that bald guy, huh?" Badd asked.

Zenko nodded. "He's a lot stronger than he looks."

Badd rolled his eyes. "Better him than Sweet Mask."

Zenko slapped his head. "Brother!"


	7. Nightmare

**A/N: Ugh I am so bad at writing stuff like this, hope you like it anyway…**

* * *

Mother's Day. Aside from Father's Day and another date he didn't want to think about, Badd could not think of a day he hated more.

All the shops went over the top with Mother's Day advertisements. _Buy this for Mom_, they all screamed. _She'll love this $300 perfume!_

Badd wanted to laugh. What gift could you buy a dead woman?

Zenko didn't seem to like Mother's Day either. She'd been so young on… that night. She was probably even more traumatised by it than Badd himself. It was natural she seemed uncomfortable on Mother's Day. It made sense. Mother's Day wasn't the same without a mother.

Still, a grandmother counted as a mother… sort of. So Badd ended up having to buy her something to get her off his as- uh, behind. Zenko just made her a homemade card. All parents loved those things.

Yet, even Zenko couldn't be as… outgoing as she usually was. She was quieter. Except when Badd got a call from the Hero Association (typical), she didn't want him to go. Even more so than usual. She wouldn't let go of his arm. Even multiple promises about shopping at Eternally 22 wouldn't get her off. In the end, he had to get his grandparents to coax her off.

The day finally finished, and night came at last. Badd pretty much flopped into bed, Tama curling up beside him. He was glad the day was over. Now he wouldn't have to put up with it again for an entire year. He began to close his eyes…

… until he felt something crawl into his bed.

He almost flipped out and bashed it with his bat, until he realised it was just Zenko. He sighed in relief, putting his bat down beside his bed. He turned the lights on.

"What's wrong, sis?" he asked. The shock had woken him up. He was a little annoyed, but he wouldn't take it out on Zenko. Especially when she looked like she'd been crying; her eyes were red and puffy. He made a face. He had a feeling he knew what was happening here.

"Had a bad dream?" he asked.

She nodded.

He sighed, letting her sit on his lap. "Yeah, it happens. What was it about?"

Zenko stared at her hands. "It was about…" She sniffled. "... _that_ night. Mom..." she paused, wiping her nose. "Mom and Dad were there, then that monster… came and… you were there too. You… you…" She began sobbing.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Badd said, trying to be as soothing as he could. He held Zenko close as she cried into his shirt. A side to him no other person saw. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real."

"You went all… crazy," Zenko continued, sniffling. "You… hit Mom and Dad with your bat… and they… and you killed…" She paused again. "Then… you turned to me with your bat… and… I woke up before anything happened. I almost thought you were gonna…"

She kept crying. Badd hugged her a little tighter.

"I'd never do somethin' like that," he told her. "You know that, right?"

"You promised," she whispered, clenching his shirt in her fists. "You promised you'd never show me violence…"

"I did," Badd agreed. "I'd never hurt you, Zenko. I freak out when I see ya cry, y'know?"

"And you cry at all my piano recitals," Zenko added, tearfully. "Big dummy."

"I do not," Badd teased, half-heartedly.

Zenko blew a raspberry at him. She then wiped her eyes. "Do you miss… do you miss Mom and Dad?"

"'Course I do," Badd answered. Now _he_ felt like crying. Those thoughts haunted him... "All the time."

"I hate Mother's Day," Zenko grumbled.

"Me too, kiddo," Badd agreed. "Thank God it's only once a year, eh?"

Zenko nodded, still clinging onto his shirt.

"It's late," Badd told her. He kissed her on the cheek. "Let's go to bed."

He reached over to turn the lights off, only to get Zenko grabbing his arm.

"Big brother," Zenko interrupted. "... Do you worry about me?"

"All the damn time," Badd answered, which was true. After all, his grandparents were retired. And while they took care of Zenko, they didn't want to take her out to do anything other than school. That's where he came in.

"You're the most important thing in the world to me, sis," Badd told her. "Y'know that? I don't care about anythin' else!"

"What about Tama?" Zenko asked.

"'Course I love Tama," Badd replied, scratching the cat in question behind the ears. She purred. "Who else is gonna meow at me at 4AM?"

Zenko giggled, also petting Tama.

"What about Grandma and Grandpa?" she asked.

"They like ya way more than they like me," Badd answered. "They think yer a little angel."

"Because I am," Zenko replied, smirking.

Badd ruffled her hair. "You sure are."

Zenko rolled her eyes, yawning. Her voice sounded tired. "What am I gonna do with you, big brother? I guess you need someone to look after you..."

Badd just laughed. "Alright, lil' Angel. I think it's time for bed."

Zenko slumped onto her pillow, still holding her brother's hand. "Goodnight, Badd. I love you."

"Love you too, Zen," Badd replied, switching off the lights. Safe to say, it was one of the best sleeps he had.


	8. Weapon

**A/N: Another novelised omake guys… hope you like it. Also, y'all remember that piano recital one? Just read this official manga about it, story's a bit different there lmao. Oh well. Maybe I'll rewrite it at some point...**

**Also season 2 is finished! While it was visually disappointing, it made me appreciate Metal Bat's character so that's a plus lol. I'll probably read the manga soon... ;0**

**Updated the cover too... really hated the old one lmao **

* * *

"Foolish humans!" the monster that was shaped like a humanoid tooth, known as Enamel, cackled. It towered above the civilians, its bulging eyes wide. "You've been consuming endless amounts of sugar, rotting away your teeth! Now your teeth will rot away _you_!"

People ran around in a panic, screaming. Sirens blared and echoed. A little girl fell over, hurting her knee.

"Mommy!" the young girl screamed. "Help me!"

"Bwahaha," Enamel cackled, towering over her. "You will be the first, child!"

The girl screamed and covered her face. Just as the monster was about to attack the girl, a hero wielding a metal baseball bat appeared. He slammed the bat into the tooth's top layer, creating a gaping hole in its surface. The monster roared, steam pooling out of the hole. It groaned, falling over in defeat. An eye dangled out of its side.

The crowd of people cheered. The little girl ran over to her mother, who sobbed and scooped up her daughter into her arms.

"That's Metal Bat, right?" someone asked. "He's a Class C hero!"

"Wow!" another person added. "He's really strong for Class C!"

"You're amazing, Metal Bat!" the little girl cried.

The people kept clapping and cheering, yet Metal Bat didn't seem to be paying attention to them. Instead, he was staring at the broken metal bat in his hands, which now looked more like a metal banana.

"Tch," he groaned. "Again…"

How many bats was he going to break? It seemed he was getting a new one every week. He sighed with annoyance, walking through the cheering crowd of people.

* * *

A few weeks later, Metal Bat got a letter from the Hero Association. Apparently, they wanted to discuss something important.

He headed over to the fancy building. After a short wait, they invited him to a pristine room that looked it had been vacuumed one too many times. He sat down on a sofa, eyeing three executives that came up to him.

"Good afternoon, sir," said one of them, a man with bleached-blonde hair. He sat down in front of the hero. "Thank you for coming. Was it a pleasant trip here?"

"Yeah yeah," Metal Bat waved his hand. "Get on with it. I promised my lil' sis we'd go shopping later, and I'm not gonna be late 'cause of small talk with you."

The executives stared at each other.

"Very well," said the blonde man, wiping imaginary dust off his chest. "C-Class Hero, Metal Bat. We have decided to promote you to S Class, after witnessing your superb combat ability. All the heroes will look up to you. You will be treated differently from now on."

"If there's a weapon or equipment you'd like, just tell us," a female executive added.

"Whatever you want, we will arrange it for you." a dark haired man agreed.

"For example," the blonde man continued, "we've provided Darkshine with custom-made super heavy barbells. Pig God requested high calorie lunches on a daily basis. If it's for the sake of hero activities, anything is fine! We can even make you your own weapons. Our technicians will implement your ideal weapon based on your description."

"'Kay..." the hero said. "A bat."

"Eh?" the blonde man asked.

"Gimme a bat that doesn't break," Metal Bat said.

The executive blinked.

"I want a metal bat that doesn't break no matter what." Metal Bat repeated.

The blonde man sweat-beaded. "Okay… a bat. We can do that."

"So, we done here?" Metal Bat asked, shifting to stand up.

"Well, you've heard what you needed to hear," the executive said. He held up a form. "But we'd love to hear your feedback on the official Hero Association-"

"Yeah, no," the hero interrupted. "I'm out."

He got out of there before the executives could make him answer any more questionnaires.

* * *

"So you're in S Class now?" Zenko asked her brother, as they walked around the mall.

"Yep," he replied. "I guess this means no more of those shi- uh, crappy weekly quotas."

"I've heard that S-Class heroes get whatever they want," Zenko mused. "Like weapons, or food, or something. Is that true?"

"Pretty much," Metal Bat shrugged. "They said anything's fine."

"What'd you ask for?" Zenko asked.

"A bat that doesn't break." Metal Bat replied.

Zenko glowered at him. "Big bro, if anything's fine, you should've asked for Sweet Mask's signature!"

The hero sweat-beaded. "Sorry, I forgot! N-next time…"

Zenko rolled her eyes. "Big dummy. You owe me!"


	9. Tareo

**A/N: Ugh, so now I don't like the grandparents idea anymore lol. Bummer man, can't change it now. Aside from that, I've read the manga. Now I love alllll the characters. XD I have mixed feelings about this chapter… **

* * *

Tareo couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He couldn't believe he hadn't realised that Metal Bat's little sister attended his school! Now he could get an autograph from another Class S hero! He couldn't stop bouncing on his toes thinking about it.

"Hey," he nervously approached Zenko, who was talking to another girl. "You're Metal Bat's little sister, right?"

Zenko looked suspicious. "Yeah. What 'bout it?"

Tareo held up his copy of the hero guide. "I'm trying to get a signature from every single hero in the association. So far, I've gotten signatures from some of Class A, lots of Class B and C, and only one from Class S. I don't want to bother you, but it'd be really cool if you could get your brother to sign my book!"

Zenko frowned, thoughtfully. The girl beside her shrugged at her.

"Okay, fine," Zenko decided. "I'll get him to sign it. But you owe me!"

Tareo's face lit up. "Thank you so much!"

Zenko flipped through the guide. She gasped. "Seriously? You got Sweet Mask's autograph? How come you managed to get it and not my dumb big brother?"

"I went to one of his concerts and got lucky," Tareo explained.

Zenko groaned. "Big bro is so getting it!"

"Is Sweet Mask your favourite hero?" Tareo asked.

Zenko nodded, eyes shining. "Isn't he so dreamy?"

"He's amazing," Tareo agreed. "But _all _heroes are cool, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Zenko nodded. "Except my brother when he's being a dummy."

Tareo snickered. "No way! Is he really a dummy?"

Zenko nodded, rolling her eyes. "The biggest. But he's still my big bro."

The bell then rang, signalling the end of lunchtime.

"Aww man," Tareo frowned. "What was your name?"

"Zenko," Zenko said, offering her hand. Tareo shook it.

"I'm Tareo," he said, grinning at her. "See you later, Zenko!"

Zenko waved at him as she ran off to class.

* * *

Unfortunately, Badd couldn't pick up his sister from school due to some Hero Association meeting, so Zenko got picked up by her grandfather instead.

"I saw you with a boy," he teased. "Going out already?"

"No way!" Zenko protested, Tareo's hero guide in her lap.

Her grandfather laughed gently. "I'm only joking, Zenko. You are far too young for romance. Your silly brother doesn't seem interested in it either." He shook his head.

"Big brother says I'm the only girl in his life," Zenko replied.

Her grandfather sighed. "Your brother loves you very much, you know. Don't take that for granted - not everyone will be the same."

Zenko glanced over the hero guide again.

"Well, someone's gotta look after him," she said. "Right?"

Her grandfather chuckled again. "Indeed."

* * *

It was late evening, and Badd still hadn't come home. Either the meeting was extremely long or something else had come up. Zenko was playing games on her phone. She'd finished her homework, thankfully. It was challenging, but she'd managed to finish it.

She wished her brother could've helped her with it. Usually it was more to spend time with him rather than actually doing homework, since he really wasn't the brightest person alive.

She frowned. She missed her brother.

She kept glancing over at Tareo's hero guide. She was still jealous that he'd managed to get Sweet Mask's signature and her own brother, a Class S hero, had not. She had her own copy of the hero guide, which included a bunch of stupid comments from her brother.

Zenko thought about what her grandfather had said. Would she ever get a boyfriend? Have kids of her own? The thought made her feel grossed out. Who would want to have kids?

Eventually, her brother did show up, but it was quite late. Zenko could tell from all the noise in the living room.

She rolled her eyes. She was starting to get tired, so she didn't get up to see him. Instead, he came to her. He creaked her bedroom door open, letting a stream of light come in.

"Big bro," she yawned.

"Sorry, yer sleepin'," he said. "I'll go."

"No, I wanna talk to you," she replied.

"Whatcha wanna talk about?" he asked, sitting on the end of her bed.

"I made a new friend at school," she said.

His face lit up. "Really? That's awesome, sis! What's their name?"

"He's a boy," Zenko replied. "His name is Tareo. He wanted you to sign his Hero Association guide. It's on my desk."

"Got it," Badd nodded. "Is he nice?"

"Obviously," Zenko answered. "Grandpa thought he was my boyfriend."

"I hope he ain't, yer way too young for that stuff," Badd told her.

"Eww, no way," Zenko replied. "Boys are gross." She paused. "But if I did get a boyfriend, what would you do, big bro?"

"Scare him off," Badd answered.

"Badd!" Zenko scolded.

"Yeah yeah," Badd waved his hands. "If you were old enough, I'd be happy for ya."

Zenko watched her brother as he went to sign Tareo's hero guide. She then remembered Sweet Mask.

"Big bro!" she whined. "Tareo got Sweet Mask's autograph before I did!"

Badd sweat-beaded. "Sorry, sis. I-I promise, I'll get his autograph next time I see him."

Zenko scowled. "You always say that! Stop beating around the bush."

"I know, I know," the hero replied. "Next time, I swear."

Zenko sighed. "Did you sign the book?"

"Yep," Badd patted the hero guide. "That'll make your friend happy."

Zenko nodded. "Anyway, how was the Hero Association meeting?"

"Really boring," Badd groaned. "They went on for hours 'bout some big monster attack that was supposedly gonna happen, how we needed to be ready, 'get out your weapons', blah blah blah. And then that annoyin' Tornado brat took care of the whole thing in ten seconds."

Zenko didn't respond, and instead, looked away.

"What's wrong, sis?" Badd asked, kneeling beside her bed.

"You know what's wrong!" she whined. "You were away all day, again!"

"It's work, Zenko," Badd sighed. "Y'know there's nothin' I can do about it."

Zenko glared at him. "You could've at least called!"

"I'm really sorry," he told her, grabbing her hand. "Seriously. Big bro doesn't have a choice, sometimes."

Zenko continued glaring at him. "You said I was your top priority!"

"You are," Badd assured her. "It's just… Grandma and Gramps don't work. That's why I've gotta do it. I gotta earn money for us. I gotta be able to pay for Tama's stuff and yer piano lessons. And yer school stuff as well."

"Why don't they pay?" Zenko asked.

Badd scowled. "Long story. Don't worry yerself over it."

"I wanna know now," Zenko whimpered. "Tell me!"

"Look, you're too young to understand," Badd said. "I'll tell ya when yer older."

Zenko turned over and pulled the doona over her head.

Badd sighed, standing up. "Night, sis. Love ya."

He left Zenko to sleep. She watched him leave, and sniffled.


	10. Tama goes to the vet

**A/N: UPDATE: learned Tama actually isn't de-sexed, oops... I'll fix it in the future don't worry guys!**

** Hey guys, another author's note lmao. Thank you for all the support! I really appreciate it. :) I've been watching a lot of Supervet lately and that's where I got the idea for this chapter. ;p It's a pretty wholesome show if you wanna watch it yourself lol. The idea also came from real life experience too, as I have two cats of my own.**

**On another note, I'm currently writing an OPM x Yandere Sim fanfic called One Punch Simulator, if you're into that you can check it out. Okay, onto the chapter! **

* * *

Tama was acting weird. She wouldn't eat her food, and she kept throwing up. Zenko wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Her brother was busy with hero duties, so he wasn't around. She talked to her grandparents instead.

"She might be sick," her grandmother said. She handed Zenko a mop. "Wait until your brother gets home, and we'll figure something out."

Zenko sniffled. What if Tama was dying? She didn't want to wait. She wanted to do something _now_. So... she called her brother.

"Hey, sis, big bro's a little busy right now," he told her, not unkindly. "Is this important?"

"Tama's sick," Zenko told him, tearfully. "I wanna take her to the vet but Grandma and Grandpa won't let me!"

"She's sick?" Badd asked. He sounded worried. "Can't do anythin' about that now, Zen. I'll try and finish up here, as quickly as I can."

"Hurry up!" Zenko told him. "Please," she added quietly.

"See ya soon," he replied, hanging up.

* * *

An hour later, Badd came home, bat over his shoulder.

"Big bro!" Zenko cried, as he entered the house. "Finally!"

"Hey, sis," he said. "Where's-"

He was interrupted as Zenko grabbed his hand and dragged him to her room. Tama was lying on the floor, looking tired.

"Hey there, kitty," Badd said, kneeling down to scratch her behind the ears. She purred, meekly. He turned to Zenko. "How's she been feelin'?"

"She was throwing up before," Zenko said. "And she won't eat any food."

Badd pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Zenko asked him.

"Bookin' a vet appointment," he told her, standing up. He called the vet and talked to them for a bit. It was a busy vet, but it was a good vet, so he'd deal with the wait. Zenko nervously petted Tama, whose eyes seemed to be full of mourning.

It was going to be okay, wasn't it?

"Booked it," Badd said, kneeling down beside his sister. "We're goin' in tomorrow."

Zenko nodded. She clung onto her brother's arm. "Will she be okay?"

"'Course she will," Badd answered, "she's got fightin' spirit!"

Zenko looked like she was going to cry. Badd (secretly) felt the same way. If Tama really was… so sick that… _euthanasia_ would have to occur, he didn't know what he'd do. Who was going to sleep on his desk while he fumed over algebra? Who was going to cuddle up on his bed and make him temporarily forget all his worries? Who was going to wake him up at 4AM by mewing in his face?

He hated to admit it, but he'd even miss that last one.

* * *

The siblings went to the vet the next day. It wasn't the first time they'd been - Tama'd had to go there to be neutered. Zenko was still annoyed about it. She had wanted a whole litter of kittens (or 'baby Tamas', as she called them) - unfortunately, her grandparents had not.

The vet smelled like animal pee and was completely white, aside from various posters about flea treatments. The siblings, with Tama in a cat carrier, sat down in some hard, plastic seats. There were some other people there, such as a kid with a bird, a few dogs, and some other cats. Tama's meows mixed in with the other sounds of the animals. Zenko tried to poke her fingers through the bars of Tama's cage, hoping it would calm her down. Sadly, Tama kept meowing. Zenko decided to focus on something else.

"Look, big bro, that girl over there has a piglet," Zenko said, pointing to a young woman, that indeed, had a pet pig on a leash.

"What'd you want a pig as a pet for?" Badd asked. "Waste of bacon."

Zenko slapped his arm. "Badd! That's not funny!"

"I was kiddin', I was kiddin'!" Badd exasperated, waving his arms.

Zenko rolled her eyes. "You're so dumb, big bro."

Suddenly, a familiar teen girl, dressed head to toe in a active wear, walked into the vet, holding a leash with 6 dogs attached. They were all yipping away.

"All of you, shush," the girl told them, firmly. She pointed at a grey poodle. "Muffin, bad girl. Don't bite Sir Winterbottom's, well, bottom."

"What the…" Badd stared at the girl. "Lily?"

Lily looked up, turning red, and stared at him. "Oh! Uh, hi! Metal Bat! And Zenko!"

"That's a lot of dogs, Lily," Zenko said, genuinely impressed. "Are they yours?"

Lily shook her head. "These are my neighbour's. He looks after these rescue dogs, and I take them for walks. He pays me for it. It's my new job. Yeah, I know. Another one. Ha ha."

There was an awkward silence.

Lily coughed. "Anyway, he wanted to take them to the vet for a check-up today, but had to go to some important meeting so he wasn't able to. I offered to take them for him since I was going to take them for a walk anyway and he accepted. So here I am."

"Right," Badd said, staring at all the dogs. "Seriously, girl. How many jobs do you have?"

Lily's face went a deeper red. "Just a few."

"Tama?" a vet called, holding up a clipboard. "We're ready to see you now."

Badd and Zenko stood up. Tama mewed some more from her cat carriage.

"Good luck!" Lily told them. She glared at the dogs at her feet. "Raspberry! For the last time, sit!"

Badd and Zenko followed the vet to a small room. In there was an examining table, a desk, and other things found in a medical environment. The vet sat behind her computer, while the siblings sat in some seats beside her.

"Alright, there we go," she said, finishing whatever she was typing on her computer. She faced the siblings. "What seems to be- oh my god. You're Metal Bat." She gasped, eyes going wide. "Oh my god. Holy crap. Can I have your autograph?"

"Hey, lady, I'm here ta' find out why my cat's sick," Badd growled, "not to give out autographs."

The vet blushed. "Um, r-right. S-Sorry. I lost track of myself there." She cleared her throat, smoothing out her shirt. "Let's get Tama here onto the examining table, huh?"

Badd managed to coo Tama out of the carriage. He was glad she got to get out of there - he hated seeing her stuck in there. It felt like animal cruelty.

The vet began to examine her.

"She's a little bit overweight," the vet said. She frowned. "How's she been, these last few days?"

"She's been throwin' up," Badd told her. "Not eatin' food, either."

Tama mewed, stress-fully.

"Calm down, kitty," Badd told her, in a gentle tone, scratching her behind the ears. "Yer fine. Mama's here."

"Hmm," the vet mused. "Let me take her temperature."

She went and picked up a thermometer.

Badd cringed. "Don'tcha have to put that thing in her…"

The vet nodded, smiling sympathetically. "You don't have to look if you don't want to."

Badd covered his sister's eyes.

"Big bro!" she whined.

After the vet checked Tama's temperature, she turned back to the siblings.

"She's a normal temperature, and judging by her weight, I believe she may be eating food too quickly," the vet said, staring at Badd. "How much, and how often do you feed her?"

"Well, my little sis feeds her as well when I ain't around," Badd said. "I usually feed her when I get home from school, and in the morning. What 'bout you, Zen?"

"I feed her at night," Zenko answered, "and if she meows at me a lot."

"And _how_ much do you feed her, per serving?" the vet asked.

"No idea," Badd admitted. "I don't really pay attention."

The vet made a face.

"Big bro!" Zenko scowled. She rolled her eyes at the vet. "Sorry, he's as dense as his bat."

"What?" the hero asked.

"She eats about a cup a day," Zenko told the vet, ignoring her brother.

"As in, a measuring cup?" the vet asked.

Zenko shrugged. "Just a normal cup, that you'd drink out of, I guess."

The vet frowned thoughtfully. "I see. You are overfeeding her, and she is eating too fast. You should only feed Tama around twice a day, and make sure she always has water. If she keeps putting on weight, there's a chance she may get diabetes."

"Knew I was spoilin' her," Badd admitted. "Sometimes I feed her at nighttime as well."

"And you bought her an expensive cat bed from Petfarm," Zenko added. "That thing is more comfy than Grandma's couch!"

The vet sighed. "Don't overfeed Tama. If you stick to only feeding her twice a day, she should stop vomiting."

"Got it," Badd said. He petted Tama, smiling. "Yeah, kitty? Yer so cute, aren't ya? Good girl."

"I think we're done here," the vet said, smiling. She blushed, and bowed. "I-it was an honour to meet you, Metal Bat sir, and I'd be really grateful if I could get your autograph."

Badd scowled.

"Never mind," the vet turned away, still blushing.

* * *

Once Tama (and her owners) got home, she curled up on Grandma's couch, while the siblings sat next to her.

"I bought her a damn expensive bed and she still prefers this old thing," Badd grumbled.

"Smells weird, too," Zenko commented.

Badd snorted. He petted Tama again, who purred. His will crumbled. "Aww, I can't stay mad at you, kitty."

Zenko rolled her eyes. But hey, neither could she.


	11. Protection

**A/N: Hello, I'm back. :D Been working on my other fanfics so I didn't get to update this one, sorry guys. XD Anyway, so this is two mini shots of the siblings being protective of each other. Hope you like it! **

* * *

**1#**

Being the little sister of a Class S hero wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Some people were nice to Zenko just to meet Metal Bat, or to get in his good graces. Some people were scared of her because they were scared of her brother. And some people were perverted and/or greedy.

Zenko could feel a pair of eyes on her back. She was standing still outside the grocery store. Her brother had run off to deal with some monster that had appeared, and she was waiting here in a safe place for him to return.

She couldn't see anyone spying on her… was she being stalked? It wouldn't be the first time. Some crazy people knew that she was Metal Bat's little sister, and unfortunately tried to 'kidnap' her for ransom money or something like it. Thankfully, her big brother's temper came in handy, and those idiots had strayed far away after facing his wrath once.

Most of the time, anyway.

Zenko was feeling more and more uncomfortable. A drop of sweat fell down her cheek. There weren't that many people around, since most of them had fled due to the monster. She really hoped her brother would come back soon.

"Hello, little girl," said a creepy voice. A man approached her from behind, some kind of twisted emotion in his eyes. He raised his hands threateningly. "Why don't you be a good child and come with me?"

He put a hand over her mouth, a sick grin on his face. Zenko tried to kick him, but he was too strong. He tried to drag her away, but was interrupted by a loud, angry voice.

"HEY YOU!" Badd roared, holding up his bat. He was practically shaking with rage. He looked just as dangerous as a monster himself. It wasn't hard to see why people were so scared of him.

"The hell are you doin' to my sister?!" the hero demanded.

"Oh, shit," the perverted man cursed. He let Zenko go and ran for his life.

"GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!" Badd yelled, chasing after him.

"Big bro!" Zenko shouted. "Wait!"

Badd turned and stared at her. "Zen, I gotta-"

"Don't leave me alone," Zenko said, her lip trembling.

Badd's expression softened. "I won't."

He picked her up, where she clung onto him like a baby koala. He continued searching for the man. He wanted to rave about how much he wanted to smash the creep's head in, but feared his sister wouldn't like it. Despite that, she'd seemingly wiped off her fear and instead put on a brave expression. She looked around for the man.

"He's in that alleyway," Zenko whispered into her brother's ear, as they approached the alleyway in question.

"Good eye," he told her. He put her down, gently grabbing her shoulder. "Big bro's gonna need to get a bit violent with that guy, so I want you to look away, okay?"

Zenko frowned. "No! No violence!"

"Zen, that guy's a very bad person," her brother replied, calmly as he could. "He needs to go to jail, or he'll hurt more people. He's gonna resist or run away again, so I don't have a choice."

Zenko pouted. "Fine! Just… be quick about it."

Badd nodded. Putting his bat over his shoulder, he approached the alleyway.

"Stupid dumbass," the perv muttered, hiding in the shadows. "He'll never find me here!"

"You wanna say that again, buddy?" Metal Bat asked him, cracking his knuckles.

"Goddammit," the man cursed. He turned to run away again, but the hero grabbed his shoulder.

"You ain't goin' anywhere," Badd told the sweating man. "Lucky for you, I told my sister I'd make this quick."

The man laughed nervously. Badd knocked the guy out with his bat, then called the police. As he waited for them to arrive, he sat next to his sister.

"Did you make it quick?" she asked.

"'Course," Badd replied. "I just knocked the guy out." He wanted to do much, much worse, but for Zenko's sake, he'd passed it up. He hoped the police could at least do something.

"Why do they have to pick on me?" Zenko asked, sounding a little sad.

"They probably want somethin' out of me," Badd replied, putting an arm around her. "Don't worry 'bout 'em. I won't let any of 'em hurt you."

Zenko smiled, just a little. And that was enough to make her brother smile too.

* * *

**2#**

There were a lot of monsters running around. Badd had got a call to go to City S to fight off some of them.

Zenko was starting to worry about him. He'd been gone since the early morning, and he still hadn't come back. She knew he was a Class S hero, and he was very powerful, but she just felt… nervous. She couldn't bare the thought of him being hurt.

She rang him, but he didn't answer. Now she was even more fearful.

She decided she couldn't sit with this feeling anymore. She was going to go out and find her brother.

"I'm going out to find big bro," she told her grandparents.

"It's too dangerous," her grandmother said, shaking her head. "Stay here."

"No way!" Zenko exclaimed. "Big bro could be hurt! I have to go out and find him!"

"Zenko…" her grandmother began, but the child was already out the door. The elderly woman sighed.

"She's just as stubborn as her brother," she commented, shaking her head.

Zenko went out into the city. She was independent enough that she knew how to catch public transport by herself. She'd insisted on learning how to do so, so she could reach her brother if he wasn't at home, or go somewhere else.

She arrived at City S. She looked around the expansive city, searching for her brother. While looking, she saw a dead monster, making her tense up. Up ahead were even more dead monsters. She frowned thoughtfully. She followed them like they were a trail.

Then she saw him. He was leaning against the wall of a bank, covered in blood. His hair was a mess, and his torn clothes were stained with blood. He looked as if he was having trouble staying awake.

"Big brother bat!" Zenko yelled, running over to him.

"Huh?" the hero looked up. "Zenko, get outta here… alotta monsters are around…"

"You're hurt!" Zenko exclaimed.

"I'm fine," he told her, pushing himself off the wall. "Go home."

"No way!" Zenko replied. "I'm not gonna let you. You're bleeding, and your clothes are all ripped!"

Badd leaned against his bat. It seemed most of the monsters had disappeared, but he wasn't letting his guard down. Especially around his sister. Still, his spirit was draining out. He was tired.

Zenko grabbed his arm, tugging it. She had an intense look in her eyes. He sighed, and kneeled down beside her.

"So messy," Zenko sighed. She pulled out a handkerchief, and began wiping the blood off his face. "That's why I need to look after you, big dummy."

"S-Sorry," he apologised, dumbly. What else was he supposed to say?

"You need to stop getting yourself hurt!" Zenko told him, wiping his cheek.

Badd sweat-beaded. "Sorry…"

Zenko sighed. "Dummy."

Badd found himself smiling, oddly. "Ya know, yer just like Mom."

Zenko paused. "Huh?"

"She used to do this kinda stuff too," he continued. "Yer probably too young to remember, but when I was around yer age, I used to play fight with other kids and get covered in dirt." He laughed. "Mom would get so annoyed, after she'd clean me up I wouldn't hear the end of it for days…"

Zenko had a solemn look on her face. "Oh…"

"Did I make you sad?" Badd asked, sweating. "Sorry! I didn't mean to. I was just-"

"No, it's okay," Zenko told him. "You just don't talk about Mom much."

Now Badd was solemn. "Yeah. Well… it… it's painful for big bro to think about, Zen. I don't like talkin' 'bout that stuff."

Zenko glared at him. "Well, it's painful for me when I think about you getting hurt!"

Metal Bat sweat-beaded again. "Sorry…"

Zenko rolled her eyes. She then gave her brother a hug. "Let's go home, big bro."

He returned the hug. "Sure thing, sis."


	12. Return to the mall

**A/N: Hey guys, so guess what. I actually read the manga and webcomic for One Punch Man lol. And I'm happy to learn I didn't get anything too inaccurate... **

* * *

Zenko had a big grin on her face. Somehow she and Poppy managed to do well on the maths project! Poppy herself seemed to be quite surprised by it. The girls were discussing it as they were leaving maths class, the last class of the day.

"I… I never get good grades," Poppy told Zenko.

"Not even in art?" Zenko asked. She'd seen Poppy's sketch book. Safe to say, she was a wizard when it came to drawing.

"Except art, I guess," Poppy shrugged.

Zenko nodded. "Yeah. No offence, but your handwriting is kinda hard to read."

Poppy sighed. "I'm really bad at writing…"

"You can practice, right?" Zenko asked.

Poppy frowned. "Every time I try to write something, the letters go all squiggly. Then I spell all the words wrong. I just… can't remember anything to do with writing."

"Sounds like Dyslexia," a new voice said.

The girls turned around to see Child Emperor standing there, sucking on the lollipop he always seemed to have. He was wearing his regular blue shirt, and holding something that looked like an iPad.

"Child Emperor?!" Zenko gasped. "What're you doing here?!"

"I teach at this school, didn't you know?" Child Emperor asked. He paused to lick his lollipop. "After school, on Tuesdays. Thought your brother would have mentioned it."

Zenko shook her head, reminding herself to yell at her brother later. "He never said anything about it."

"Um, Mr. Emperor…" Poppy asked, quietly. "What did you mean by… Dyslexia?"

"It seems you have a lot of the symptoms of Dyslexia, from what I heard, anyway," Child Emperor answered. He tilted his head at Poppy's expression. "You don't know what Dyslexia is, do you?"

Poppy shook her head, embarrassed.

"It's a learning disability," Child Emperor explained. "The symptoms of it mainly involve delayed reading abilities, difficulty spelling, difficulty memorising and understanding… in other words, you're not great at reading and writing, or remembering things." He waved a hand at Poppy's shocked face. "That doesn't mean you're _stupid_ \- you've got normal intelligence, you just have trouble with linguistics."

Poppy frowned. "That sounds like me… is there any way to cure it?"

"It's not a disease, it can't really be 'cured', per say," Child Emperor said, "you'll need to have therapy, a tutor, and see a specialist for an actual diagnosis. Do you have a parent or carer of some sort that knows about all of this?"

Poppy shook her head. "My mom always said I was stupid…"

Zenko swore she noticed poppies blooming nearby Poppy's feet.

Child Emperor scowled. "Damned adults. They always act like they're all that." He shook his head. "If all else fails, you're always welcome to come to one of my classes. I've taught people with disabilities before. You'll be fine."

"Wow, uh… thanks," Poppy said, blushing.

Child Emperor nodded. "Of course. Tuesday, after school." He began to walk away, but turned back. "Try and see a specialist, if you can, Poppy. There's more than one way to sneak around adults." And with that, he left.

Poppy just stared at where the hero had been for a few seconds. Finally she said, "... How did he know my name?"

Zenko shrugged. "Heroes are weird. I should know; my big bro is one!"

Poppy nodded in agreement. She and Zenko walked to the school gates in a strange silence. A trail of poppies followed the former, while a poppy vine seemed to be growing around her arm. She hid said arm behind her back.

"Hey, um," Zenko stared at her friend. "Did your mom… really call you stupid?"

Poppy nodded, looking away. Zenko clenched her fist. Poppy had a disability, that didn't make her stupid. She wanted to find Poppy's mom and yell at her, but her thoughts were distracted by a certain someone.

Badd was leaning against the school gates, as he always did. This time he was in his uniform. He'd had to run here from his high school before the teachers could try and give him another after school detention.

"Heya, Zen," he waved. "How was school?"

Zenko slapped his leg. "Dummy! You didn't tell me Child Emperor tutored here!"

"He… does?" Badd scrunched up his brow.

"Yeah!" Zenko replied. "He said you knew about it!"

"That's bulls- um, bull crap," Badd grunted. "He never said anythin' 'bout it!"

Zenko pouted. "Whatever. Can we go to the mall?"

"Yeah, sure," Badd said, glancing at a text on his phone, "Gramps says we have to be home by 6, though."

"Aww," Zenko frowned. "He's gonna make me eat broccoli again!"

"Don't worry," Badd waved his hand, "we can get ice-cream at the mall." He winked. Gods, if his grandparents knew how much he spoiled his sister at times, they'd ban him from seeing her, then make _him_ eat broccoli.

Zenko's face lit up. "Let's go, big bro!"

Poppy waved, a wistful look on her face. "Bye-bye…"

Zenko stared at her friend, and frowned. She turned back to her brother. "Can we take Poppy with us?"

"Yeah, sure," Badd nodded. "She'd better get permission from her sister or somethin' first."

"My sister isn't here," Poppy said, sighing. "My mom might come, though... maybe."

"Maybe?" Badd asked.

Poppy shrugged. "Sometimes she takes a while to get here. Or she doesn't come at all…"

Poppies began blooming at Poppy's feet.

"Where'd they come from?" Zenko asked, staring at the poppies.

Poppy shrugged. "I don't know… flowers follow me around." She pulled out her phone. "I'll call her."

Poppy went aside to call her mother. Zenko noticed her brother looked… concerned about something.

"What's wrong, bro?" She asked him.

"Eh, it's nothin'," Badd waved it off.

"It's not _'nothin'_," Zenko said, glaring at him. "I know you're upset about something. Tell me!"

Badd sighed. "Well… I got a call from the Hero Association durin' my maths exam 'bout some monster... actually, that was the best part of my day. Now I don't have to do the stupid exam!"

Zenko face-palmed. "Actually, you'll probably still have to do your exam, bro. Just at some other time."

Badd scowled. "Damn school."

"Tell me the _bad_ stuff," Zenko begged her brother. "Why are you upset?"

Before Badd could answer, Poppy returned. She looked a little pale.

"She… she said I could go," she said.

Badd and Zenko glanced at each other.

"Let's go!" Zenko said.

* * *

The mall was full of the after school crowd, and a few people recognised Badd by his, well, bat, and pulled him over for autographs and photos. He had to oblige of course - the Hero Association would never let him hear the end of it if he didn't.

Zenko was annoyed of course, but she stopped complaining (well, didn't complain as much) when she got her ice-cream. Poppy didn't say much at all. She still got embarrassed when Badd bought her an ice-cream of her own.

The girls went to one of their favourite clothes shops. As expected, it was one of the expensive ones.

"It's so expensive," Poppy murmured to Zenko, staring at the ridiculous price tags. "Your brother's already spent so much money on me… I don't wanna make him spend anymore."

"He doesn't mind," Zenko said. She looked up at her brother. "Right, big bro?"

"Are ya actually gonna wear any of these things?" Badd asked, also staring at the ridiculous price tags. Only his sister would want to spend 20,000 yen on a pair of sneakers.

Zenko blew a raspberry at him. "Of course! Now come on, they've got new t-shirts!"

Zenko picked up some shirts she wanted to try on. Poppy, still feeling guilty (and a bit dazed), said she didn't want anything and was fine to watch Zenko get dressed up. Zenko went to the change rooms to try on some sparkly t-shirt. Badd and Poppy had to wait outside the door.

"Ya don't have to feel bad, y'know," Badd told her. "If ya want something, I'll get it for you, kid."

"You're too nice," Poppy replied, smiling. "Zenko's lucky to have an awesome big brother like you. My sister never buys me anything."

Badd was about to reply, but he was interrupted by Zenko, naturally.

"Bro!" she chirped, sounding tearful. "Help! The zipper won't come out of my hair!"

"Open the door," Badd told her.

"No!" Zenko cried. "I'm... not wearing any pants!"

"No one's gonna see ya," Badd tried to soothe her. "And if there are ANY PERVS WATCHING," he raised his voice, glaring at the people around him and holding up his bat, "I'LL BASH THEIR HEADS OPEN."

Everyone there immediately either left or crawled backwards. One woman actually passed out.

"That's… a bit extreme," Poppy commented, quietly.

"We had an… _incident_ this one time," Badd told her. He gritted his teeth, staring at his bat. "Long story short, some dic- uh, big jerk tried to perv on my sister. Pretty sure he's still in hospital."

"Don't remind me of that!" Zenko cried. She lowered her voice. "The door's open."

"Yeah yeah," Badd said. He went into the stall, and his and Zenko's conversation became much quieter. Poppy turned around, and that's when she noticed someone coming towards her. Well, two people, to be exact: her older sister and Fubuki.

Poppy hurriedly scrambled underneath a chair, poppies growing around her arms. She got there just in time, so the two didn't see her. She noticed Lily was wearing a blue suit and a fancy fur coat.

"Was that Metal Bat yelling?" Fubuki asked, raising her brow.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. What would Metal Bat be doing at this place?"

They both laughed at the thought.

"Anyway, what do you think of that suit?" Fubuki asked.

"It looks great, Miss Blizzard," Lily said, her eyes glazing over with admiration.

"Oh, Lily dear, you always compliment me," Fubuki waved a hand. "Tell me your real feelings."

"I really think it's great, Fubuki-sama," Lily insisted. "_Anything_ you wear looks great."

Fubuki laughed. "You flatter me, dear. Now come on, that suit won't pay for itself."

Lily blushed. "You want to… buy it for me?"

Fubuki nodded. "Of course! You're my personal assistant. And my personal assistant deserves only the best clothes."

Lily looked like she was about to burst into tears of joy. Poppy felt the same, but the opposite way around. She was suddenly small and insignificant, trapped under the chair. Poppies were all over her arms now, and she swore she could taste them in her mouth. It was bitter. Bitter, like hatred.

Poppy watched as her sister and Fubuki walked away. She crawled out from under the seat, just as Badd and Zenko emerged from the changing rooms. Zenko was wearing the glittery shirt. However, her hair was a mess, and glitter was all over her face.

"I hate this shirt," she declared.

"Me too," Badd agreed. He dragged his hand down his face. "Yer gonna need a shower when we get home, kiddo." He looked at Poppy. "And you look like you've seen a ghost. Where'd all the flowers come from?"

Poppy stared at her hands. "I don't know…"

Badd's phone suddenly rang. The hero scowled and answered it.

"What?" he snapped at the poor sod on the other line. "I'm with my little sister, so this better be damn important! ... seriously? Can't 'cha get another hero to handle it? ... oh fine, I'll go."

He tch-ed.

"Sorry, kiddos," he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. "We've gotta go. Hero Association's callin' me."

Zenko stomped her foot. "But I wanted to go to Eternally 22!"

"We can go there some other time," Badd told her. He grabbed her hand. "C'mon, kids. Don't cry, Zen. Alright. I promise we'll go to Forever 22 on the weekend, yeah?"

Zenko sniffled. Then she tilted her head. "What about Poppy? Are you going to take her back to her house?"

"I'll get Gramps to do it," Badd replied. "Haven't got time myself."

Poppy looked away. Secretly, she was relieved to be leaving - this place was making her uncomfortable. She prayed to whatever god was up there that they didn't run into her sister and Fubuki.

* * *

Badd dropped Zenko and Poppy off at his grandparents', quickly explained the ordeal to said grandparents, then raced out the door to deal with the Hero Association's demands.

"Grandpa says he'll drop you off at your house" Zenko told Poppy. Her friend nodded. She stared off into space for a moment.

"You're lucky," Poppy whispered.

"Huh?"

Poppy didn't say anything more. She just continued staring off into space.

"Are you okay?" Zenko asked her, frowning.

Poppy shrugged. "I don't know… I just… saw something at the mall…"

"What was it?" Zenko asked. "The thing about the perv? That was scary, but my big brother wouldn't have let any pervs hurt you."

"Not that," Poppy said. She sighed. "Something else…"

Zenko wanted to ask what, but her grandfather came into the room, dangling his car keys on one finger. Zenko and Poppy followed him out to the car.

As they got to the car, Zenko realised she was holding something that had just appeared a second ago.

A dead poppy.


	13. Sleepover

Sleepovers with little girls were something of a nightmare. Metal Bat was partly considering going over to one of his friends' houses for the night, or that apartment he had in City A. His sister wanted him to stay, though. She was quite insistent about it, as well. And he couldn't say no to her.

The sleepover was happening on a Friday afterschool, so Poppy went home with Zenko from school. Badd was doing hero duties, so he couldn't pick them up. Once the girls got home and got changed out of their uniforms, they hung out in Zenko's room. There was a big pink table in the middle of the room, which the girls sat nearby. Tama was sitting up on Zenko's bed, like she was keeping an eye on the girls.

"Your room is so cool," Poppy told her friend.

"Thanks," Zenko replied, brightly. "I designed it all by myself!"

"What are we going to do now?" Poppy asked.

"Have a tea party, of course," Zenko replied. "I invited some special guests to join us!"

"Special guests?" Poppy asked.

"Zenko!" Zenko's grandmother yelled, outraged. "Who are all these people at the door?!"

"C'mon!" Zenko grabbed her friend's arm. She led her to the front door, where there were a bunch of people: Saitama, Genos, Garou and Fubuki.

"Hey, aren't you that hero hunter guy?" Saitama asked Garou. "Why're you here?"

"I don't know!" Garou shouted. "Somehow, this stupid kid found my contact info and bribed me into coming."

"Bribed you?" Saitama asked.

"She promised I'd get to see Metal Bat in a dress," the villain replied.

"Guys!" Zenko interrupted. She looked at Saitama. "Where's King?"

"He said he had a really intense battle to go to," Saitama replied, shrugging.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Fubuki asked. "I'm a busy woman. This had better be important." She stared at Poppy. "Oh, hello Poppy. I didn't realise you were here."

Poppy didn't say anything. Poppies grew beneath her feet.

"And my Master is a very busy man," Genos agreed. He put his hands on his hips. "If this… _event_... is pointless, I will personally destroy this house."

"If you try I'll tell my big bro!" Zenko snapped. "And then my grandparents!"

"How about we just hurry up and get this over with?" Saitama asked.

So Zenko led the heroes inside. She made them sit around the pink table in her room. She handed out tea cups and plates.

"We're having… a tea party?" Fubuki asked.

Garou face-palmed. "God, Metal Bat's dress better be worth it…"

"Shhh!" Zenko hissed. "Wait until I'm done!"

"This is a waste of time," Genos said, standing up. "Master, I think we should leave."

"Nah," Saitama said. "I kinda wanna see that Medal Bag guy in a dress too."

Fubuki rolled her eyes. "This is ridiculous."

"No mean words!" Zenko shouted. "I want positivity only at this table!"

Just as she said that, her brother walked in.

"Hey Zen, Poppy," he said. "What're you…"

He trailed off when he saw all the people at the table. He glared at Garou especially.

"What the Hell are _you_ doin' here?!" he roared.

"Your sister invited me," Garou replied, lazily. "She told me you'd be wearing a dress."

Badd held up his bat. "Get the hell outta my house! Or I'll smash yer head open!"

"Big bro, calm down!" Zenko replied. "I invited them all here. We're having a tea party."

"Frankly, I have better things to be doing than entertaining loud-mouthed brats," Fubuki said.

Badd turned his bat on her. "The hell did ya just say, you bit… damn woman!"

"This is more entertaining than I thought it would be," Saitama commented.

Badd sighed. "Hey, Zenko, can I talk to you for a sec? Privately?"

Badd and his sister went out into the hallway.

"So," Fubuki spoke up. "Is anyone interested in joining the Blizzard Group?"

No one responded.

Fubuki sighed. "I tried."

"Look, sis, you can't just invite all these random strangers over to our house," Badd told her.

"They're not strangers!" Zenko argued. "They're the Saitama group!"

"That damn hero hunter guy ain't!" Badd replied. "How'd ya even get his contact info?"

"That's what I was asking!" Garou called from Zenko's room.

"Shut up!" Badd yelled back. "When I'm done here I'm throwin' you out!"

"Big bro!" Zenko snapped. "No violence!"

"Yeah yeah," Badd waved his hands. "But sis… if you wanna invite people over, _tell_ me. Don't just invite 'em without sayin' anything, okay? And definitely _don't_ invite bad guys over."

"I understand, big bro," Zenko said. "But they're my friends!"

"Zenko, they're all more than twice yer age," Badd replied.

"I don't care!" Zenko said, crossing her arms. "They're still my friends!"

"You really gotta be careful," Badd told her. "There are some bad people out there."

"They're _heroes_, big bro," Zenko argued.

"I know, but heroes ain't always good," Badd warned. "They do alotta dangerous things. I don't want somethin' to happen to ya."

"I'll be fine," Zenko retorted. "I can look after myself!"

Badd had to admit, she was pretty independent for her age. As independent as a young child as herself could be, anyway. The thought of her growing up made him feel… uncomfortable. He knew it was going to happen, eventually, but not right now. Compared to all those idiots back in her room, she was still a baby!

"I'm makin' 'em leave," the hero declared.

"Noooooooo!" Zenko cried, grabbing his leg. "We haven't even started yet!"

"Alright, everybody out!" Badd yelled at the heroes sitting around the table.

"Aww man, no dress?" Garou asked.

"Get out, punk!" Badd repeated.

Garou stuck his tongue out. "You're no fun."

"I knew this would be a waste of time," Fubuki scoffed, folding her arms.

Zenko started crying. "Don't make them leave!"

Unfortunately for her sake, her brother didn't listen, and kicked all the guests out. He didn't mean to make her upset, he just didn't want her hanging around a bunch of grown adults. Plus, some of the guests were definitely not welcome in his house. In the end, only Zenko and Poppy were left.

"You ruined it!" Zenko told her brother, crossing her arms.

Badd sighed. "Look, you can have a tea party some other time. We'll plan it out, okay?"

Zenko kept scowling at him.

"It's okay, Zenko," Poppy said, quietly. "He's right. We'll do it some other time."

Zenko sighed. "Fine! But now we've gotta do something else."

"What is it?" Poppy asked.

Zenko turned to her brother. "You're about to see!"

Badd got, well, a bad feeling. He began to regret not going to his friend's house after all…

* * *

An hour later, and Zenko was finishing up.

"There," she said, putting away the mascara. "You're done."

Badd was sitting there in a pink dress with white frills. A golden, heart-shaped necklace was around his neck, the word 'princess' on it. His face was covered in eyeshadow, blush and mascara.

"How did I get into this…" he muttered.

"Oh wow," Poppy commented, trying not to laugh. "He looks…"

"So pretty," Zenko grinned. "Pretty as a princess!"

Only for Zenko would Badd ever have this much tolerance. Well, he supposed he owed it to her, mainly so she didn't start bawling. She was really upset after he'd kicked out all of her 'special guests'.

"Gee, thanks," he said, scowling.

"Big bro!" Zenko scolded. "You're meant to act like a princess!"

"How do princesses act, then?" Badd asked.

"Be formal!" Zenko replied. "Posh and proper!"

"Alright..." Badd cleared his throat. "Oh dear," he said, in a terrible high-pitched voice. "I'm a princess, and I'm very formal. Oh how I love wearing dresses and make-up."

Poppy began laughing, but she hid it behind her hand.

"That's more like it!" Zenko replied. She brushed some hair out of her eyes. "Your Highness, would you like some tea?"

"No thank you, dear," Badd replied. "I'd like to leave the planet."

"Big bro!" Zenko grumbled.

Suddenly, her grandmother walked in.

"Alright children, dinner's..." the elderly woman trailed off when she saw Badd.

"Hi, Grandma," he said, waving.

"What... are you doing?" his grandmother asked.

"We're playing princesses!" Zenko answered cheerfully.

The woman went pale. "And this is why I take my heart medication."

* * *

After a mildly eventful dinner, the girls went back into Zenko's room.

"Let's watch a movie!" Zenko said.

"What movie?" Poppy asked.

"I don't know," Zenko said, frowning. "I'll show you the list of them!"

As Zenko scoured for movies, Poppy gazed at a pin board on her wall. There were a ton of pictures on there, most of them being Zenko and her brother.

"What are you looking at?" Zenko asked, noticing Poppy's diverted attention.

"You have a lot of photos," Poppy told her.

"Oh yeah," Zenko said. She gasped. "That reminds me! I have a photo album full of even more photos. Hold on." She went under her bed, pulling out a photo album. It was a thick white book with her name drawn on the front with a puffy font.

"Here we go," Zenko said, putting the photo album on her bed. Poppy sat next to her. Tama stood up, curling into another ball. Zenko began to flip through the photos.

"That's me on the first day of school," Zenko told Poppy. It was a picture of a slightly younger Zenko standing outside the school gates. Her brother was kneeling next to her, tears of pride in his eyes.

"Cool," Poppy told her.

"Ooh, me playing piano for the first time!" Zenko chirped, gazing at a picture of her sitting behind a piano. Naturally, her brother was in the photo too, tears of pride in his eyes.

"Wow," Poppy commented.

"And there's Tama as a kitten," Zenko said. "Isn't she cute?"

Poppy nodded. Even as an adult, Tama was still pretty adorable.

"Oh, and here's me when I was a baby," Zenko said, pointing to a picture of her as a baby. Next to it was a picture of a much younger Badd holding a baby Zenko in his arms.

"Wow, your brother looks really young there," Poppy told her.

"Yeah," Zenko agreed. "He was probably about my current age there."

Poppy stared at another photo. A man and a woman that resembled the siblings were standing behind a young Badd and a toddler Zenko. They had their arms around the kids.

"Who are they?" Poppy asked, pointing to the picture.

Zenko frowned. "That's my mom and dad. They're… dead now."

"Oh," Poppy looked away. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Zenko replied, quietly. She blinked heavily. "Big bro knew them better than I did, anyway…"

"How did they die?" Poppy asked. She blushed. "S-Sorry… I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"

"They were killed by a monster," Zenko replied, her lip trembling. "In the middle of the night… a monster broke in, and…"

"I-I'm really sorry," Poppy said, blinking away her own tears. She gave Zenko a poppy. "I… hope this makes you feel a little better…."

"A little," Zenko wiped her eyes, accepting the poppy. "Thanks… but… I'm okay, because I've always had my big bro. He looks after me… and I look after him. I love my grandparents, but… big bro's the one who's always there for me."

Poppy nodded. A vine seemed to crawl around her arm, like a deadly snake.

"Your sister's there for you, isn't she?" Zenko asked.

Another vine began to grow.

"Not really," Poppy said. "She's always busy…"

Zenko gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "That sucks… she should spend more time with you."

Poppy looked away. She couldn't keep hiding these vines forever.

"Let's watch a movie now," she said, quickly.

* * *

The rest of the evening went well, though Poppy seemed a little… down. Badd came to watch the movie with the girls at some point, where Zenko fell asleep on his shoulder. Poppy felt something, watching them. A pain, like the prickly vines on her skin. Some kind of… anger.

Badd carried his sister to bed, like a baby. He even tucked her in. Poppy just watched, her expression apathetic. The feeling grew.

"You all good?" Badd asked her. "Y'know where the bathroom is and everythin'?"

Poppy nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"Alright," Badd said. "If ya need anythin', my room's down the hall. Night, kiddo."

"Night," Poppy replied, quietly, watching her friend's brother leave the bedroom. She sat on her inflatable mattress, and sighed.

She couldn't hide from her feelings forever.


	14. Zenko's birthday

Today was a big day. A day almost as important as Christmas, and a day Metal Bat took _very_ seriously.

Zenko's Birthday.

As usual, it started with Zenko waking her brother up very early in the morning.

"Big bro!" she climbed onto his bed. "Get up!"

"It's 6AM," he groaned at the clock, rolling over.

"I don't care!" Zenko replied, jumping up and down on the bed. "It's my birthday! We're gonna party all day!"

The hero just put his face into the pillow.

"Get up!" Zenko repeated. She tried to pull him out of bed by tugging his arm. "Come on!"

She had a pretty persistent grip. Badd sighed. She wasn't going to give up anytime soon, so he may as well just get up.

"Alright, alright," he said, sitting up. "Big bro's gettin' up. Stop pullin' my arm."

"Finally!" Zenko exasperated, hands on hips.

Badd wiped his hair out of his face, and gave her a lopsided smile. "Happy Birthday, sis."

Zenko grabbed his hand, suddenly looking serious.

"Big bro, can you promise me something?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied. "What is it?"

"Promise me you won't leave today," she said. "Stay with me."

Badd sweat-beaded. Then again, his sister meant more to him than that damned association. If they had a problem, there were plenty of other heroes they could send.

"I promise," Badd told her, kissing her forehead. "It's yer birthday! I ain't going anywhere."

Zenko smiled at him, then her face went back to planning mode. "Now come on! We've gotta go and get ready for the guests!"

The guests weren't coming for another 4 hours, but Badd knew his sister wouldn't care. She wouldn't be able to contain her excitement.

* * *

The party plan wasn't that extreme: Zenko, and some of her friends, which included Poppy, Tareo, and some of her other classmates, would be playing party games, eating party food and whatever else happens at kids' parties. Then they'd have a birthday cake, open presents, and pizza would be ordered.

Call him crazy, but Badd didn't really want to mooch around with a bunch of middle-aged mothers for three hours, so he'd be keeping an eye on the party. He was pretty good with kids, at least, better with them than most adults, it seemed. There was a chance Lily would show up, but knowing what she was like with her jobs, probably not.

Badd helped his sister set up for the party. Their grandparents got up around 8, and pitched in a bit too. Soon, it was ready to go. Brother and sister flopped onto the couch, waiting for the guests to arrive.

"What'd you get me for my birthday?" Zenko asked, sitting on her brother's lap.

"That's a surprise," he told her, winking. "You'll find out later."

Zenko pouted. "Tell me!"

"Aww, but then you'll ruin the surprise," Badd said.

In actuality, he'd been meaning to get Sweet Mask to sign her birthday card, but had totally forgotten. He was thinking of sneaking off to find him while Zenko wasn't looking…

"Is it Sweet Mask's signature?" Zenko asked.

Badd turned red. "You'll see."

* * *

An hour later, the guests began to arrive. Poppy was dropped off by Lily, who as expected, ran off straight away to go to her new job, pledging to be back when the party was over. Tareo came shortly after that, courtesy of his father. The rest of the guests came too. Meanwhile, the parents crowded around in a circle in the corner of the living room, glaring at Badd as if they were thinking _who let this delinquent hang around my child?_ Badd had to roll his eyes at them. Why did parents do that?

Zenko invited her friends to the living room, where they played some video games. Badd joined a bit too, only since his sister insisted on it. He didn't mind, he was glad to see her happy. And, he had to admit, the games were sort of fun. They caused a lot of yelling, though.

"I win!" Tareo cheered, as he came first in the match of some puzzle game. Everyone else groaned.

"Not bad, kid," Badd told him.

Tareo blushed. An S Class hero complimented him!

"I've always been bad at puzzles…" Poppy sighed.

"You were fine," Zenko told her. She looked at the other kids. "What game next, guys?"

Suddenly, Badd's phone began ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket. Naturally, it was the Hero Association.

He could feel Zenko's glare on his forehead.

"Yeah yeah," he said. "I'm not gonna answer."

He put the phone in his pocket. Zenko smiled gratefully at him, then turned back to the game. The group decided on some drawing game, which Poppy seemed happy about. Just as they were about to start playing, Badd's phone rang again. The same people, naturally.

_Don't,_ Zenko mouthed at him.

Badd bit his lip. If they were calling him a second time, it must've been something important… no. He promised Zenko he wouldn't leave.

But this was his job for crying out loud.

"Uh, e-excuse me, Mr. Metal Bat," one of the kids said anxiously, pointing at his pocket. "Um… shouldn't you answer your phone?"

"It's nothin' important," Badd replied. "Don't worry 'bout it, kid."

The kid blushed and turned around. The game was beginning at last, and everyone was making usernames for themselves. Zenko was smiling again, thank Heavens. Of course, his phone ringing for a third time had to ruin it.

Badd stood up, holding up his phone. Zenko glared at him.

"Look, I ain't goin' anywhere, I'm just gonna answer it," Badd told his sister. "They won't stop ringing me otherwise."

"Fine, but don't leave!" Zenko said.

"I won't," Badd replied. He moved to the hallway to talk to the Association, and immediately frowned. "Whaddya want? This had better be important, you dumbassases."

"Metal Bat!" a woman's voice yelled. "Thank you for answering. It's an emergency meeting - all S Class heroes are required to come to the Hero Association building right now. Something dangerous has arisen."

"Look, I'm at my lil' sister's birthday party," he replied. "I ain't comin' unless it's threat level God, you understand?"

"It's _worse_ than God," the woman replied. She sounded stressed. "We need all hands on deck. Even Metal Knight is coming. We think Blast might be coming too! Please, Metal Bat - we need you to come."

Badd almost smashed his phone. "It's seriously _that_ bad?"

"Yes," the woman replied. She yelled something at a coworker, and Badd heard a crash in the background. "The world needs you!"

Badd stared at his phone.

_Dammit all_, he thought. _Why'd it have to be today? _

He felt like crying. It really must've been bad if Metal Knight actually decided to show his face instead of appearing afterwards with one of his robots like he always did. And apparently Blast was coming too, and the only thing Badd knew about that guy was the fact that he was never around unless it was extremely serious. But… he knew Zenko was going to be heartbroken. She wouldn't forgive him for a long time. He didn't want to make her upset. He'd told her she was his first priority, and that was no lie. But if the threat was really that terrible…

Now he was mad. Whatever that God+ threat was, it was going down. No monster was allowed to interrupt his sister's birthday party.

"Metal Bat?" the woman asked. "Are you there?"

"You'd better be serious about this attack," he threatened, "or I'm gonna quit the damn association, then tear the whole thing down, you understand?"

"Y-yessir," the woman said, gulping.

The hero hung up on the woman, gritting his teeth. Now to face his sister. He slung his bat over his shoulder and walked towards the door. He couldn't help but bow his head.

"Big bro!" Zenko yelled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm so sorry, sis," he replied, "but they told me I had to come in."

"No!" Zenko shouted, standing up. "You promised you wouldn't leave!"

"They told me it's worse than god level," Badd replied, looking away. "They were begging for me to go."

"But it's _my_ birthday!" Zenko protested. She ran over to him, and grabbed his leg. She held onto it like it was a lifeline. "You said I was your first priority!"

Badd kneeled down and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you. Happy Birthday, Zenko. I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you, I swear it, even if it's the last thing I do."

"No!" Zenko cried, tears streaming down her face. "Badd! You promised!"

Badd tried his hardest to ignore her crying as he pried her off his leg. He felt a tear of his own slip down his cheek as he had to forcibly push her away from trying to grasp onto him again. He dashed out the door, lip still quivering. He could still hear her shouting from the inside.

He sighed. He wasn't kidding about his threat to quit that damned association and then tearing the whole thing down, that was for sure.

* * *

The rest of the party sort of fell apart afterwards. Zenko was too upset to want to do anything else. Her friends tried to cheer her up, but it didn't seem to be working. She didn't even want to eat her cake or open presents.

"I know you're upset, dear, but you're just going to have to wait until he returns," her grandmother told her, gently. "Try to forget about it."

"He _promised_." Zenko replied.

"Yeah, I understand how you feel," Poppy sighed. "On my birthday, my sister walked out too because she totally forgot about her job delivering newspapers to old ladies... it was kinda funny, actually..."

Zenko just kept sniffling.

"Maybe that wasn't helpful…" Poppy muttered.

"Are you sure you don't want to open presents?" Tareo asked. "Or play another game?"

Zenko just glared at a family portrait on the wall.

"Welp," Tareo sighed. "This is going well…"

* * *

Badd had to admit, they weren't lying about the threat. It was god level, and it had taken the effort of every Class S hero (excluding Blast, who didn't end up coming after all) to defeat it. It was evening by the time the threat had been neutralised, and everyone was tired.

Badd knew he'd have to go home and deal with his sister. He knew she'd give him the cold shoulder treatment for ages, but it was for the sake of the planet. He walked out of the building, sighing heavily.

"You aren't making a lot of noise for once," a voice said, "thank goodness."

"Beat it, bobby-pin," Badd growled at Flashy Flash, who leaned against the wall.

"Formal as always, Metal Bat," Flashy Flash rolled his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be going to your little sister's party, or whatever it was?"

"After I bash yer head in," Metal Bat replied, glaring at the other hero.

Flashy Flash raised his hands. "Now, now. I'm not looking for a fight. I was only asking."

"It's none of yer business," Badd replied. "Get lost."

"Learn some manners," Flashy Flash sighed. "Sweet Mask was right. You are very immature."

"What the Hell did you just call me?!" Metal Bat asked, whipping around.

"I'm sure you heard me," Flashy Flash replied. "Well, whatever. I don't have time to fight an amateur."

"YOU ARE DEAD, BOBBY-PIN!" Badd yelled, cracking his knuckles. Flashy Flash rolled his eyes once again, and disappeared in, well, a flash.

"BASTARD!" Badd yelled, holding up his bat. "GET BACK HERE!"

He looked around for Flashy Flash, but the hero had completely disappeared. Badd called him a few more names before giving up and leaving.

"Immature," he muttered. "Well at least I ain't a coward!"

And he had to bring up that idiot Sweet Mask too. Ugh, Badd didn't even want to think about him. What did Zenko like about him?

Hang on a second. Sweet Mask. Her favourite hero.

Badd, for the first time since the morning, smiled. He knew exactly how to make it up to his sister.

* * *

Zenko was still miserable. It was quite late but she didn't feel tired. It seemed her brother couldn't even make it home to say goodnight. She sighed, rolling over in her bed. This was her worst birthday by far.

Her grandmother knocked on her bedroom door.

"What?" Zenko grumbled.

"Your brother's home," her grandmother said.

"I don't want to talk to him," Zenko snapped.

"He's brought a very special guest," her grandmother replied.

"Who?" Zenko asked.

"I think you'll have to come out and see for yourself." said her grandmother, sounding a little… cheeky.

Zenko groaned. It was probably just one of her brother's stupid high-school friends with a birthday present. Though, her grandmother had never sounded like that before. Zenko was almost curious.

"I'm coming," she sighed. She got out of bed, and followed her grandmother to the front door. There, she saw her brother waiting. He gave her a small smile, leaning against the wall.

"Happy Birthday, sis," he told her.

"Where's this 'special guest'?" Zenko asked, scowling.

Badd pointed to the front door, smirking. "Why don't ya go out there and look?"

Zenko made a face, but did as he asked. She almost stopped dead when she saw who standing there.

"Oh my God…!" she gasped. "Sweet Mask!"

The titular hero gave her a smile. "Hello there, dear. You must be Zenko. Your brother told me all about you."

"Oh my God," Zenko squealed, her face going red. "He knows my name! Big bro, he knows my name!"

Badd just kept smirking.

"It's lovely to meet you," Sweet Mask kneeled down to her height. "I heard it's your birthday? Happy Birthday."

"Sweet Mask wished me happy birthday!" Zenko cheered, jumping up and down. "This is the best day ever!"

Sweet Mask just laughed. "I'm glad you think so."

"You are the coolest hero ever!" Zenko told him. "Can I take a photo with you?"

"Of course you can," Sweet Mask replied. He put his arm around the child, as her older brother pulled out his phone and took a picture of them. Zenko couldn't wipe the huge grin off her face. Sweet Mask, her idol, was here in person! The real deal! This had to be a dream, right?

"Well, I'm afraid I need to get going," Sweet Mask said, standing up. "Happy Birthday, Zenko."

Zenko nodded, eyes shining. "You're amazing, Sweet Mask! I-I… uh, I mean goodbye!"

Sweet Mask nodded at her, then glanced at her brother. They had some kind of silent agreement, then the Class A hero walked away.

The siblings stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Well?" Badd asked. "What'd you think of your birthday gift?"

Zenko kept smiling. "It was the best birthday gift ever!"

Suddenly, she up to her brother and slapped him.

"You're still a big dummy!" she yelled. "You still broke your promise, but…" She clung onto his leg. "But I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, picking her up. He took her inside. There, she fell asleep almost instantly. He couldn't blame her. Today had gone on for way too long. But at least it had a happy ending.


	15. That night

**A/N: So yeah, I'm divided about this chapter. The ending half gets a bit... violent. Lol. It was heavily inspired by something I saw on Tumblr by someone by the name of paperficwriter. I recommend looking them up! **

**Enjoy the angst you poopheads... **

* * *

_It was love at first sight._

_Of course, that saying didn't always mean romantic love. Who ever said it did?_

_Badd's mom, for the last few months, had been pregnant. Which only meant one thing: he was going to be a big brother._

_He wasn't sure what the baby's sex was. The doctors were saying it'd be a boy, but they weren't for sure. His friends at school had told him that little siblings were annoying, no matter the gender. They almost pitied him. His parents, on the other hand, were very enthusiastic._

_"You'll be a great big brother," his mom said, comfortingly. "I know you will."_

_Badd had to admit, he wasn't sure. His life had been simple up until this point: he was in the baseball team, and sometimes he got into fights with other kids, which usually meant he was covered in bandages and mud. He wasn't sure if he was ready to be a big brother._

_But life didn't give him much of a choice._

_Time flew by, and at last, the baby was born._

_Badd's mom spent a lot of time in hospital. When she finally came home, she spent a lot of time in bed. The new baby sister was put in a cot, where Badd and his father stared down at her sleeping peacefully._

_The first thing Badd thought when he saw his baby sister was dang, babies are ugly. Perhaps it was because she was wrapped up in a ton of blankets and looked more like a burrito than a child. She kept crying, too._

_"She's gross," Badd told his father, crinkling his nose. "Aren't babies meant to be cute?"_

_"That's what babies are like, kiddo," his father laughed. "Give her a few weeks, and she'll be much cuter."_

_Badd frowned. He wasn't sure he believed that._

_"What's her name?" he asked._

_"Zenko," his dad replied._

* * *

_Badd's parents spent the next few days obsessing over Zenko. He felt a little… neglected. Jealous. He scowled, thinking about it. What was so good about a dumb baby anyway?_

_"Don't be angry, dear," his mother told him, seeing his angry expression. "We still love you."_

_"Sure," he grumbled._

_His mother sighed. She glanced at the highchair where Zenko was sitting. Badd had to admit, Zenko was much cuter than she had been when she was first born. She was wearing a bib and had a dummy in her mouth. She kept staring at her mother, wiggling around._

_"Why not say hi to her?" their mother suggested._

_"Fine," Badd mumbled. He walked over to his baby sister, and stared at her._

_"So, Zenko," he coughed. "You're my little sister... well, at least you aren't ugly anymore. Doesn't mean I like you."_

_He waved his hand in front of her, turning it into a claw shape. Zenko waved back, staring at him expectantly. Badd was surprised. He wasn't expecting her to react to him._

_"Okay…" he muttered, curiously. He put his hand towards her tiny one. She grabbed it between her fingers. She then began to giggle, a smile appearing on her small face._

_"Aww, Badd," their mother smiled, "she likes you already!"_

_Badd didn't know what to say. His expression softened._

_Perhaps she wouldn't be so bad after all._

* * *

_Time went by, and Badd's love for his sister had managed to grow._

_He'd watched her play with toys and crawl around. She occasionally spouted nonsense, and spoke in broken sentences. She hadn't said her first word, not yet anyway._

_"Ba-ba!" Zenko cried, holding out her arms. Her brother stared at her._

_"It's Badd," he told her. "Can you say that?"_

_"Ba-ba!" she replied, as he picked her up._

_"Badd," he corrected._

_"Ba-ba!"_

_Badd rolled his eyes. "Fine! Ba-ba."_

_"Ba…" she said, holding out her hand. "Badd?"_

_Badd, surprised by overjoyed, gave her a smile. "Yeah! That's it!"_

_"She said her first word!" his mother exclaimed, watching them. "Oh, Badd! This is wonderful! And what a beautiful thing that her first word was your name!"_

_"Badd!" Zenko repeated. "Badd!"_

_Badd just kept smiling. This really was going better than he thought it would._

* * *

_More time passed, and Zenko was learning to walk. She was wobbling around in her little dress, trying to stand. Her brother, who'd grown a bit himself, was watching her. They were in the playground, their parents watching from afar. Some other kids were playing in the distance._

_"C'mon, lil' sis," Badd said, helping Zenko up. "I'll help you."_

_He let her stand on his shoes, while grabbing her hands. She began grinning as they waddled along. She was still so small, and giggled like the young kid she was._

_Badd realised he was smiling too. He was already proud of his little sister, and she was still just a toddler._

_"Aww, Badd!" one of his friends teased, making a kissy face. "Didn't realise you were a sweetheart!"_

_"Shut up, bastard!" Badd yelled at him. "I'll kill you!"_

_His sister's eyes suddenly filled with tears._

_Oh, crap, Badd thought._

_"I wasn't yelling at you, sis," he told her, kneeling down to grab her hands. "That was my friend. He's an idiot."_

_His friend blew a raspberry at him._

_"BASTARD!" Badd raged. He chased after his friend, yelling curse words. Zenko watched curiously._

* * *

_"What does this say, big bro?" Zenko asked. She was sitting in her brother's lap, a book in her hands._

_"That says..." Badd glanced over the word. "'Illusionary'."_

_"What does that mean?" Zenko asked._

_Badd shrugged. "No idea."_

_Zenko then went quiet. She looked away._

_"What's wrong?" Badd asked her._

_"I'm scared," Zenko said, quietly._

_"About what?" Badd asked._

_"School," she said, lip trembling._

_"Eh, you'll be fine," Badd told her. "School ain't too bad... well, kinda is for me, but it won't be for ya."_

_"What if the other kids don't like me?" Zenko asked._

_"Then they're dumb," Badd said._

_She smiled at that one. Her smile was contagious, so Badd found himself smiling, too._

_"I'm tired," Zenko said, yawning. "Goodnight, big bro."_

_"Night," he replied, as she leaned her head against his chest._

_"What did I say?" their mother asked. "He's a good brother."_

* * *

_The years went by. Badd spent a lot of time playing baseball, and watching his sister grow up. He felt protective over her, but also… kind. He spent time with her, reading books to her, taking her out and playing with her…_

_His parents were so proud. Just as they thought, he had been a good big brother. And Zenko was a good little sister._

_Everything seemed to be going well. The family was happy. Even when Badd became a teenager and started being more rebellious, it was still okay. Zenko was happy too._

_Everything was okay._

_…_

_Until that one night._

_It was a normal evening. Badd was in his room, sleeping. His prized baseball bat was leaning on the wall next to him. It was made of metal, which he liked. His sister was sleeping peacefully, too. So were their parents._

_Then it happened._

_Badd was woken by… a crash. And then a horrifying scream. He shot straight up. He grabbed his bat and slowly left the room. He crept down the hallway, then stopped dead. His breathing hitched, and a cold sweat passed through him._

_His parents' bedroom had been destroyed._

_"Mom?" he asked, his voice sounding… meek, for once. "Dad…?"_

_He approached the mess of rubble which had been their bedroom. He felt his heart racing a million miles an hour._

_No. No. No no no no no-_

_"MOM!" he screamed, trying to dig through the rubble. "DAD! ARE YOU THERE?!"_

_Suddenly, he heard another noise. An evil laugh. He glanced to his side and saw a monster. It towered above him, with a multitude of broken appendages drenched in blood. Its beady, black eyes stared him down as it licked its charred lips._

_"Tasty humans," it cackled, in a sickening tone._

_"You…" Badd felt his fists shaking. "YOU KILLED THEM!"_

_He picked up his bat and raced towards the monster. With an energy he didn't know he'd had, he slammed his bat into the monster. It screamed, flailing backwards. Badd charged towards it, hitting it again. He couldn't see anything but red. He couldn't feel anything but a burning rage._

_Blood spurted everywhere, like a red rain. The monster let out a cry, falling to the ground in a heap and crushing the garden._

_"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Badd screamed. He hit the monster again, causing it to cry out. He hit it again, and again, and again. He didn't know how to stop, but he didn't care. Rage was the only thing that was fuelling him now._

_He kept hitting the monster until it was barely even recognisable anymore. It was a mess now, something that once been alive. Badd cried out in rage. A hole had come through and sucked away their peaceful life. Everything was gone._

_Badd kept hitting the monster, whatever it had become, but he didn't feel any kind of satisfaction. He just felt… empty. His heart had turned into a void, a black hole of nothing. He tried kicking the monster's corpse, punching it until his fists turned bloody, but… nothing. He couldn't feel anything._

_He was broken. He didn't even care anymore._

_Then he heard a sob._

_He turned around, noticing a tiny figure standing in the darkness. Oh, God, Zenko. How long had she been there?_

_She wasn't looking at the monster. She was looking at him, her shoulders shaking._

_Badd stared at himself. He was covered in blood, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were ripped up. Now he realised. He was the monster._

_"Z… Zenko…" he tried to say, but she was already running away. He felt tears of his own at last. His parents were gone now. No matter how angry he got, they weren't coming back._

_But Zenko was still here._

_Slinging his bat over his shoulder, Badd ventured into the night and chased after her._

* * *

_He found her, eventually. She was by the creek in the park they used to visit with their parents. She was sitting on a park bench, bawling. Her cries were the only sound for miles._

_"Z… Zenko…" Badd said, gently approaching her._

_"Go away!" Zenko sobbed, getting up. "Get away from me!"_

_"Zenko," he said, trying to find the right words, "I… I got angry, and…"_

_"Go away!" she screamed, moving backwards. "I hate you!"_

_"I'm sorry!" Badd blurted out, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry!" He leaned against his bat, continuing to sob. "I lost control of myself! I got so angry that I…" He paused. "That damn monster killed… killed…"_

_"Mom and Dad are dead," Zenko said, quietly. "A-Aren't they?"_

_"That monster killed them," Badd replied. "Big bro… I got… really mad."_

_He tried to get closer, but she moved away again._

_"You were a monster too!" she screamed. "Get away from me!"_

_"I'm sorry," he apologised, again. He used his most gentle tone. "Zenko, please, come with big bro. You know I'd never hurt you. Ever. I want to help you."_

_Zenko whimpered. "Then promise me something!"_

_Badd kneeled down to her height. "Anything."_

_"Promise me you'll do that again," Zenko whispered. "Never show me violence!"_

_Badd wiped his tears. Through all the pain, he smiled._

_"I promise," he said._


	16. Poppy's Revenge, Part 1

**A/N: This is the only chapter so far that doesn't have Badd in it lol. Unfortunately, this little two-parter isn't really about him. He will appear though, at some point. Wanted to give the limelight to the other characters, just for a bit. It also has some action! Hope you enjoy :D**

* * *

There was something wrong with Poppy.

All day, she'd been acting distant. Quiet. Even more so than usual. Almost like she was... hiding something. Zenko wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She'd tried talking to her about it, but she'd insisted everything was fine. Or... didn't respond at all. It was odd. She wasn't even focused on schoolwork. She rarely was, but this was to an extreme. She wasn't even looking at the paper.

Zenko knew she had to do something.

"Tell me what's wrong!" Zenko said, grabbing Poppy's sleeved arm. "You're acting weird!"

Poppy shifted underneath her pink jacket. It was a size too big for her.

"Poppy…" Zenko held out a hand. "I just want to help you."

"After school," Poppy said, quietly.

"Huh?"

"After school, I want to show you something," Poppy replied.

Zenko nodded. "Sure thing…"

* * *

After school came at last. As soon as the bell went, Poppy took the back way out of school. She only briefly glanced back to make sure Zenko was following. Soon, they were out of the school, and away from adult supervision.

Poppy led her friend away from the school, still not speaking a word. They swerved through the streets in utter silence. Zenko got an ominous feeling from it all. Where was Poppy taking her? What did she want to show her? _Why_ did she want to show her whatever it was?

"Where are we going?" Zenko asked.

Poppy didn't reply.

"What are you going to show me?" Zenko asked.

No reply.

"Why won't you talk to me?!" Zenko demanded.

Nothing.

Zenko stopped, and crossed her arms. "I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on!"

Poppy paused, placing a hand on a wall. Cars rushed by. The wind bristled. They were in a quiet street, just parallel to a small cafe. Not many people around. Mostly.

"Fine," Poppy said. "I'll show you. This way."

They went into an alleyway. A cat jumped over a fence and disappeared.

"What did you want to show me?" Zenko asked, slightly nervous.

Poppy undid the zipper on her jacket. She removed it, and let it fall to the ground. Zenko gasped, and covered her mouth.

"P-Poppy…" she cried. "What happened to you?!"

Poppy's entire body was covered in poppies. Vines were wrapped around her arms and legs, like little green snakes. Red petals fell as she shifted. Poppies were coming out of her clothes, her socks, her hair…

"I don't know," Poppy whispered, smiling darkly. "But that doesn't matter. I've changed."

"Changed?" Zenko asked, stepping back.

"It was always going to be like this," Poppy said, her voice taking on a… strange edge. "Wasn't it, my dear friend?"

"What are you talking about?" Zenko asked, holding out her hands.

"Yes…" Poppy replied, bowing her head. Her face was covered with poppies. "This is the end."

Poppies began blooming beneath her feet. They grew around her hands. They spread onto the walls like a virus. Large, thick vines surrounded her, like they were huge snakes under her control. A sadistic smile appeared on her face, and her eyes had… they weren't eyes anymore. They were pools of melted blood.

Zenko screamed, stepping back. "Poppy! Stop it!"

A vine wrapped around her foot. Zenko cried out.

"The end," Poppy said, gazing at Zenko with those haunted eyes, "for you."

Then it clicked.

"You…" Zenko covered her mouth. "You're a monster!"

Poppy didn't say anything. The vines kept her floating above ground, as she tilted her head back and forth. More and more vines grew around her, and poppy petals were covering the ground, like a river of blood. Poppy advanced towards Zenko, who was backed against the wall. No escape. No survival.

"Help!" Zenko cried out. "Big bro! Grandma, Grandpa! Sweet Mask! Anyone, help me!"

The vine raised above her head, covering her in a shadow. Zenko opened her mouth to scream once more.

Suddenly, a flash of blue and silver appeared in front of her. It whacked away the vine, causing it to recoil.

"Lily!" Zenko gasped.

The hero in question was there, holding her staff with trembling hands.

"Poppy," she stared up at her sister, using a steeled voice, "what happened to you?!"

"Stupid sister," Poppy cursed. "The only time I don't want you around and of course you show up."

"What's gotten into you?!" Lily demanded. "Stop this right now!"

"No," Poppy replied. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

Lily gritted her teeth. "Poppy, this isn't funny. Stop it!"

"You act like you care," Poppy said, "but the only thing on your mind is your precious Miss Blizzard."

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked. "Poppy, she's my boss! And besides, I'm not talking about her, I'm talking about you! You've turned into… a monster!"

"And you already _were_ a monster," Poppy muttered.

Lily clenched a fist over her heart. "Poppy!"

"I'll be back for you," Poppy said, "but for now, I'm tearing up this stupid town."

"No!" Lily shouted.

"Goodbye, idiots," Poppy snapped. Her vines then grew at an extraordinary rate, making her tower above her friend and sister. They lifted her high into the sky, where she stormed through the town. She looked like a demon spider, spilling red petals in her wake. Lily attempted to hit one of the vines with her staff, but it was too sturdy. She could already hear people screaming.

"She's moving so fast," Lily said, sweating. "Oh, God…"

"What was that?" Zenko asked, walking over to Lily. "What happened to her?"

Lily paled. "I… I don't know. I thought there was something... off about her, but turning into a monster…"

"We have to stop her," Zenko yelled, "before she gets hurt!"

"Or before she destroys the town," Lily agreed, biting her lip. _Or__ if another hero gets to her first… _she added, mentally.

Lily scowled. "But there's no way I can keep up with her; she's going too fast!"

"Can you drive?" Zenko asked.

"Not a car," Lily said, thoughtfully. "But…" She moved out of the alleyway. She looked left and right, past swarms of screaming people, and spotted something. Her eyes lit up. She ran over to it, Zenko following her.

"A motorbike?" Zenko asked. She gasped. "You can drive a motorbike?"

"Yeah," Lily blushed. "I used to teach people how to ride motorbikes as a part-time job."

"Of course you did," Zenko muttered.

"Hold on a sec," Lily replied. She ran off for a moment, and spoke to a man. One short chat later, and she was holding a helmet and a key.

"Whoa!" Zenko gasped. "Where'd you get those?"

"Talked to the owner of the bike," Lily answered. "He agreed to let me borrow it once I told him I was a hero."

"Then let's go!" Zenko cheered, racing over to the bike. Lily grabbed her arm, shaking her head.

"You're not coming," she said.

"What?!" Zenko asked. "Why not? I want to help!"

Lily sighed. "You're a very sweet kid, Zenko, but it's too dangerous for you." _Plus, your brother would kill me, _she added mentally.

"No way!" Zenko protested. "Poppy's my friend! I'm not going to let her suffer! Let me help!"

"You can help by hiding in a safe spot," Lily told her, putting the helmet on.

"No!" Zenko yelled. She climbed onto the bike, and folded her arms.

"Zenko, please, get off the bike," Lily told her, calmly.

Zenko stayed put.

"Zenko," Lily said, more assertively.

Zenko huffed, holding up her chin.

Lily groaned. "God, you are stubborn, you know that?"

Zenko nodded proudly.

"Fine!" Lily threw up her hands. "You can come! But if you get hurt, for the love of God don't send your brother after me!"

She gave Zenko the helmet, and climbed on in front of her.

"Don't you need to wear this?" Zenko asked, holding up the helmet.

"I'll be fine," Lily lied. "I… know what I'm doing. You put it on." She coughed. "Now, hold onto me very tightly and whatever you do, do _not_ let go unless I tell you. Understand?"

Zenko nodded. She wrapped her arms around Lily's waist.

_What am I doing?_ Lily thought. _She's a little kid… but I don't have time to argue with her. Poppy's life is on the line. If any hero gets to her before me they could… _

Lily put the keys into the ignition. The engine roared to life.

"Operation: Save Poppy," she sighed, "here we go."

* * *

"_Attention! This is an emergency evacuation warning. Threat level: Demon. A creature with long, tentacle-like legs is making its way through the city. If you see this creature, it is highly recommended that you flee immediately._"

People ran around screaming as Poppy towered above the city. She could crush them all so easily, it was pathetic. Some C Class heroes had tried to stop her, but she'd flicked them away as if they were mere insects.

"Blizzard Group, assemble!" Fubuki yelled. Her group surrounded her, as they stood a few hundred meters away from Poppy's rampage.

Fubuki turned to Eyelashes. "Where is Lily?"

"I'm not sure, Miss Blizzard," he replied. "I tried calling her before, but she didn't pick up."

Fubuki scowled. "Never mind that. What we need to focus on is defeating this enemy. Then perhaps the Blizzard Group will finally get some recognition!"

Her group cheered in response to that.

"Come along," Fubuki said, raising her arms. "For the Blizzard Group!"

Meanwhile, Genos and his master, Saitama, were racing towards the enemy. Genos had his cannon ready.

"Stay back, Master," Genos told Saitama. "I can handle this by myself!"

"Sure," the bald hero shrugged. "Go ahead."

Genos kept his eye on the foe; a young girl, or something, was high in the sky. Definitely some kind of horrid monster. He prepared his cannon to fire…

Suddenly, a vine appeared out of nowhere. It wrapped itself around Genos' cannon. The hero cried out. He blasted it off, but another one appeared, and then another.

"Demon Cyborg?" a voice asked. "You're here?"

Genos turned to his right, seeing Fubuki and her followers.

"It is too dangerous for you all to be here," he yelled. "Leave!"

Fubuki shook her head. "Not this time! Share the limelight, Demon Cyborg!"

Genos scowled at the stubborn woman. More and more vines were wrapping around him. Every time he broke free, more kept coming.

_These tendrils are persistent, _he thought. _I'll need to work even faster to break through them! _

"Pretty annoying, huh?" Saitama asked, casually obliterating 5 vines at once. "I hate weeds."

An evil laugh caught their attention. The girl Genos had seen before was hovering above them, a twisted grin on her warped face.

"You heroes always act like you're more important than anyone else," she chortled. "So stupid."

_That girl… _Fubuki thought, frowning. _She looks… familiar… _

"Begone!" Genos yelled. More vines wrapped around him. He roared, blasting them all away with fire. Poppy petals floated in the air.

Poppy's warped features changed to a scowl. "You S Class heroes especially. You're all so up yourselves."

Fubuki decided to join in on the fun. She raised her hands, creating a hellstorm. The rocks and stones rained against the vines. Wind blew everyone's hair back. Poppy's scowl deepened.

"I hate _you_ most of all, Blizzard of Hell," she said. "You took _her_ from me."

"Excuse me?" Fubuki asked, looking up. A large vine suddenly rose up beside her. It slapped her harshly. She was tossed across the ground, loading control of her hellstorm.

"Miss Blizzard!" the Blizzard Group exclaimed.

Poppy just laughed, staring at Fubuki on the ground. A slither of doubt crossed her mind, however. Was this really what she wanted?

_Of course it is_, she told herself. _They deserve it!_

"Alright," Saitama dusted off his shoulders. "Time to get rid of some pesky weeds."

He held out his fist.

But before that could happen, a short while away, a teenage girl was speeding through town on a motorbike. She was leaning forward, maybe a little too much to be considered safe. A younger girl was holding onto her waist.

Lily did a quick swerve to avoid some pedestrians. She kept her hands tightly clenched on the gas. She wanted to go faster, but for Zenko's sake, she'd have to stay at her current speed.

Then she saw something up ahead.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Is that…" she gasped. "No…"

"What's wrong?" Zenko asked.

_Dammit_, Lily cursed. _Miss Blizzard told me about that Saitama guy. Apparently, he's crazy strong. If he hits Poppy then she'll…_

_Oh God. Metal Bat, please don't kill me_, she thought, as she suddenly sped up. Zenko grabbed on tighter. They came closer and closer to Poppy, but so did Saitama.

Lily frowned. She knew what she had to do.

"Zenko!" she yelled. "Jump off the bike!"

"What?!" Zenko asked.

"Do it!" Lily ordered.

Zenko frowned. "But won't-"

"Do it, or I'll make you!" Lily screeched. She didn't mean to screech, but she was on her last straw. She didn't have much patience anymore.

Zenko made a face, but listened. She tumbled off, into the darkness of a street. Lily bared her teeth. She'd worry about that later. For now, only one thing mattered…

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiittttttt!" she screamed. She swerved her motorbike in front of Saitama, and leapt off.

The bike crashed into a shop. Lily held up her staff, standing directly in front of Saitama's fist.

"Lily!" Fubuki exclaimed. "What on Earth are you doing?!"

"Miss Blizzard! Mr. Demon Cyborg! Mr. Saitama! You can't hurt her!" Lily shouted, holding out her arms.

"Why is that?" Genos asked, scowling.

"She's not a monster," Lily added. "She's my sister!"

There was a silence.

"That can't be!" Fubuki said, looking away. "Sweet little Poppy… she couldn't be a monster… but…" She had looked familiar…

"I'm afraid she is," Lily replied. She trembled. "Don't attack her! I will talk to her."

"She is a monster," Genos pointed out. "Whether she is your sister or not, it is unlikely that she will listen."

"That's not true!" a new voice argued. "I know we can get through to her!"

Zenko was standing there, carrying her helmet. She had a few grazes on her skin, and her clothes were slightly damaged, but she seemed to be fine aside from that.

"Zenko!" Lily gasped. "Thank God you're okay!"

"Isn't that Metal Bat's little sister?" Fubuki asked, staring at the child. "Lily, what is she doing here?"

"I've come to help save Poppy!" Zenko answered.

"This is no place for a child," Genos warned her. "Your brother would be furious if he knew you were here."

"He's always furious," Zenko rolled her eyes. "I'm not scared of him. Anyway," she turned to Lily, "we've gotta save Poppy!"

Lily gazed up at her sister, tightly gripping her staff. "That we do." She gripped her staff tighter. Her heart was racing a million miles per hour.

Zenko didn't look scared at all. Lily was amazed. How could this kid be so brave?

"Hey, Poppy!" Zenko yelled, hands on hips. "Can you hear me?"

Poppy glared down at her, vines twitching. "You again?"

"You need to stop all this!" Zenko scolded. "You're hurting a lot of people! Don't you understand?"

Poppy made more vines appear. "Go away!"

"Sister," Lily found her voice. "She's right… I don't know what happened to you, but you have to stop."

"Why should I listen to you?" Poppy asked, eyes glowing in rage. "You never listened to me!"

A tendril made its way towards Lily. She batted it away with her staff.

"Then listen to me this one time," Lily pleaded. "You're damaging the city, and you're going to get yourself killed. You need to stop. Calm down."

"You're so stupid!" Poppy yelled. "Go away! I hate you!"

Even more vines appeared. Lily clenched her staff even tighter.

"Lily!" Fubuki cried.

"Get behind me," Lily told Zenko. The child obeyed. The vines approached Lily, who fought them off with her staff. She was doing quite well, much better than anyone would expect a low B Class hero to do.

Still, Lily's chest was heaving. She couldn't fight off so many vines by herself.

"Do you require assistance?" Genos asked.

"No," Lily panted. "I'll be fine!"

_Liar_, a voice echoed in her mind.

"Poppy!" Zenko shouted, standing next to Lily. "Stop it! You're hurting your own sister!"

"Good," Poppy growled. "She deserves it!"

Zenko looked mortified. Lily bit her lip.

"I… deserve it?" she asked.

Poppy rained down more vines. Lily continued to fight them off. But they never stopped coming, and she was only a low class B hero. There was only so much she could take. Her arms already wanted to fall off.

"I don't understand!" Lily yelled. "What did I do, Poppy? What did I do to deserve this?!"

Poppy's eyes bled. "You should already know, since you're _soooo_ smart, Lily!"

Zenko held up a hand. "Poppy! What's wrong with you?!"

"Oh, I don't know," Poppy snapped. "Why don't you go and ask your big brother?"

"Enough, Poppy," Lily said sternly, choking down more air. She lowered her voice. "You're going to kill me soon enough." She pointed her staff at Poppy, and raised her voice again. "Stop yelling at me and tell me why you are so upset!"

Poppy just glared. "Maybe if you actually cared about me, you'd know!"

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked. "Of course I care about you!"

"Sure you do," Poppy rolled her eyes. "That's why you spend so much time around your precious Miss Blizzard."

"I'm her personal assistant, Poppy," Lily argued. "Of course I have to spend time around her!"

"You're never home, either," Poppy retorted. "And you never do anything with me!"

Even more vines appeared.

"I do spend time with you!" Lily yelled, hands sweating around her staff. "We go to the mall together!"

"No!" Poppy raged. "You're always on your stupid phone!"

The vines zoomed towards Lily. Arms stinging, she battled them off again. She was starting to slow down. She couldn't keep fighting forever.

"I hate you!" Poppy screamed.

Lily fell to her knees. Blood poured out of her mouth.

"Lily!" Zenko cried out in concern.

"Stupid sister," Poppy cursed. "You're dead to me."

Vines wrapped around Lily's body, hoisting her into the air.

"Put her down!" Zenko screamed. The heroes in the background were prepared to fight.

"Sure," Poppy taunted. She tossed Lily into a building. She crashed through the window, landing on the floor. Her staff was lying beside her.

"Dammit…" Lily muttered, her vision flickering in and out.

_I understand now, _she thought. _I've been neglecting Poppy. I haven't been paying attention to her... like I should've been. Poppy… is hurting. Mom's been… abusing her, and I've done nothing. I've been scared. I've been hiding, leaving Poppy to suffer alone._

"I'm… a terrible sister…" Lily whispered out loud. Tears fell from her eyes.


	17. Poppy's Revenge, Part 2

**A/N: Part 2 is here! Some strong language at the end, as well as mentions of abuse... just letting you know if that upsets you.**

* * *

In a simple neighbourhood house, Badd was hanging out with his friend Luminare. It was one of the few times he got to hang out with her, since usually he was swamped with either school work or hero related business. Luminare also knew how to do calculus.

"Got your stuff out?" she asked.

"Yeah yeah," he said, pulling out homework from his school bag.

"Well, you can do it later," she said. "Right now, we get to chillax."

He scowled. "C'mon, I just pulled it all out!"

Luminare just laughed. Badd muttered curses, putting the work back in his bag. Luminare turned on the TV. It was showing a news report about some monster attack in the central city.

"Ugh, flowers," Luminare sniffled. "Hate those things." She squinted at the screen. "Wait, hold on… hey, MB, isn't that your sister?"

"Huh?" Badd asked. He walked over to the TV. It showed a live video feed of what looked like a demon child with a bunch of vines surrounding it, attacking the city. Weirdly enough, the child was kind of familiar... In the background was the Blizzard of Hell and her group, Demon Cyborg, and that bald guy Saitama. And then Badd saw his little sister, standing right before the monster.

"What the fu-" he spluttered. "Zenko?! What the Hell is she doin' there?!"

Before Luminare could reply, Badd was already hosting his bat over his shoulder.

"Sorry Lumi, gotta run," he said. "That monster ain't touchin' her!"

He literally kicked the door down and ran off at top speed.

Luminare stared at her door. "Well… he could've at least closed it."

* * *

Lily felt like Hell.

She couldn't even move. Blood trickled down her cheeks like tears. Maybe they _were_ tears.

_This is all my fault_, she thought. _Poppy is going to die because of me. _

More tears. The lily on her ponytail had been crushed.

_I'm a failure_, she thought. _I can't even call myself a hero…_

She sobbed quietly, pain consuming her. Then something caught her attention.

Her staff.

It gleamed blue, a twinkle in the corner of her eye. Lily held out her hand, trying to reach it. A faint, cyan light encased it. It moved into her hand.

_These psychic powers are worthless_, she thought. _Not like I can do much… _

Through hours of training with Fubuki, Lily had acquired minor psychic abilities. Most of the time they weren't very useful, aside from occasionally lifting something into the air.

Lily stared at her staff for a while. She heard noises from somewhere. She sighed, sitting up slowly. She felt like staying there for all eternity.

"Lily!"

That voice. Zenko was standing there.

"Are you okay?" Zenko asked.

"No," Lily whispered. "Just leave me, Zenko. I'm a failure."

"No you're not!" Zenko argued. She walked over to Lily, and started tugging at her arm. "C'mon! We gotta save Poppy!"

"It's too late," Lily replied.

"No it's not!" Zenko yelled. Damn, that kid was strong for her age. "Poppy's your sister! You can't just give up on her."

"I'll fail her again," Lily retorted, weakly.

"So you made a mistake," Zenko waved her hand. "Big deal! We all do! If you really wanna help Poppy, you gotta try again!"

Lily smiled, sadly. "You really are stubborn, aren't you…?" She laughed, tears choking her voice. "You're a great kid, Zenko. Your brother's really lucky."

Lily used her staff to help her stand up. Her body ached, but she ignored the pain for now. Her staff glowed blue.

"Alright, then," she sighed. "Let's save my sister."

* * *

Fubuki was angry now. Lily shouldn't have done that! She was a smart girl, smarter than that. Fubuki also felt… worried, too. Lily wasn't just her personal assistant, she was one of her friends. Plus, she was still a kid. Fubuki, being an adult, was… responsible for her safety. And now she was hurt…

"Stay back," Genos stepped forward again, incineration cannons out. "I will handle this."

Fubuki scowled. She then realised Metal Bat's little sister had run off as well. Could she not keep an eye on any child?

"No, I'll do it," Fubuki said. "She knocked down my personal assistant. It's my responsibility."

She raised her arms, preparing to summon Hellstorm again. Poppy glared down at her with that twisted expression.

"Die!" she screamed. Multiple vines zoomed towards the esper. They were so quick, Fubuki could barely-

"Miss Blizzard!"

Someone shoved her out of the way. Fubuki landed on her side, and looked up. Her mouth fell open.

"Lily?!" she exclaimed.

Lily was glowing a faint cyan, a determined look on her face. Her hair flowed behind her like waves.

"Don't worry, Miss Blizzard!" she said, cheerfully. "I can handle this!"

The young heroine charged towards her sister, staff in hand. Poppy glared at her, summoning more vines. Lily didn't seem bothered, and slipped around them with the grace of an A Class hero.

"What the-" Poppy's body twitched. "How'd you get so fast?!"

Lily zipped behind her sister, fighting off vines with incredible strength. Fubuki was astounded. She knew, deep down, Lily was strong, but she didn't realise how strong.

"I'm going to save you, little sister," Lily told Poppy. "No matter what!"

Poppy glared. She sent more vines after her sister, who slipped right past them. She jumped up another one, reaching her sister's body. Poppy shoved her away, but Lily immediately got back up, even more determined than before.

"Go Lily!" Zenko cheered.

"What happened to her…?" Fubuki asked, eyes widening. Even Genos looked mildly impressed.

"She got some fighting spirit," Zenko replied. "That's all."

Fubuki just stared, eyes widening.

"Poppy, stop this!" Lily ordered, dodging another vine.

"No!" Poppy roared.

"Sister, please!" Lily pleaded, avoiding another. "Just hear me out! One more time!"

"NO!" Poppy repeated, sending a multitude of vines even an S Class Hero would have difficulty fighting off.

"Lily!" Fubuki shouted.

Lily didn't move. She kept on a brave face, even as the vines approached.

"Poppy…" she said, her tone downcast. "I'm… sorry."

The vines got closer.

"I'm really sorry," Lily apologised, tears appearing in her eyes. "I've been a horrible sister to you. I've been ignoring you… I… I should've been there for you! I should've been there for you when Mom was… hurting you. Instead I ran away. I spent all my time with Fubuki-sama. I just… I just couldn't stand being around Mom. But I'm the big sister. It's my job to take care of you, and I failed. I failed you. And now look what happened…"

Poppy didn't say anything, but her face creased. The vines slowed down.

"This is all my fault," Lily continued. "I hurt you. I neglected you. I let Mom hurt you, when I could've stopped it. But I'm a coward… I'm no hero." She sniffled. "I'm so, so sorry. You were absolutely right. I do deserve this."

Vines were all around her now. There was no escape.

"I can't even see her anymore," Fubuki said, quietly. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She is alive," Genos said, eyes glowing, "but weakened. She will collapse soon."

Zenko clenched her fists. "She'll pull through! I know she will!"

Fubuki was a bit pale. "I..."

"She's a brave kid," Saitama said, walking over to Fubuki. "She'll be fine."

"I want to fix my mistake," Lily continued, bowing her head. "I want to make it up to you. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness… I'm not asking for that. But I want you to give me another chance. I want to help you. I'll show you that I can be a good big sister." She looked away. "I can see you're jealous of Zenko… I get that. I'm not Metal Bat, I'm no S Class Hero… I'm just some stupid low B Class idiot. But I still want to try. I want to try again.

"I want to save you. I want to show you that… that life isn't horrible. You don't have to be a monster. You _aren't_ a monster. You're a brave spirit. We can start it again, Poppy. I love you. I know I don't show it much, but it's true. Come with me, sister. I'll help you. You don't have to be alone anymore. I'll be with you all the way."

Poppy choked. A tear slid down her cheek. She gritted her teeth.

"I…" she began.

"I can make it up to you," Lily said, holding out her arms. "We can move past my mistakes. Please, Poppy. It's okay."

Poppy lowered herself to the ground. The vines around her shrivelled up. Poppies came out of them, and floated towards the ground.

"You're going to be okay." Lily told her sister, smiling gently. Poppy ran into her sister's arms, sobbing heavily into her shoulder. Poppies floated around the sisters.

"She did it!" Zenko cried. "I knew she would!"

Fubuki smiled with pride. "That's my girl."

Lily began coughing up blood.

"Sister!" Poppy exclaimed.

"I'll be okay," Lily told her, weakly smiling. "It'll be okay…"

* * *

It was beginning to get crowded. More members of the public started arriving, as well as an ambulance, the police, and so on. They were all huddling around, looking at the damage the city had taken.

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

Badd ran through the perturbed crowd, holding up his bat.

"Zenko!" he shouted, looking around.

"Big bro!" Zenko replied. She ran over to him, where he began scanning her over.

"You aren't hurt, are ya?" he asked. He frowned. "God, yer covered in grazes… at least yer haven't broken anythin'. Tell big bro what happened."

"I jumped off a motorbike!" Zenko informed him.

"Ya did what?!" Badd spluttered.

"Lily can drive motorbikes!" Zenko added. "She was going really fast, and she told me to jump off."

"That so?" Badd asked, looking around for the girl in question.

"Hey, don't go after her!" Zenko scolded. "She saved the day! She saved Poppy!"

"Poppy?" Badd asked.

"Yeah," Zenko said. "Poppy turned into a monster."

"She did?" Badd asked. So that's why the kid on the TV looked so familiar! "How'd she do that?! Did she hurt ya?!"

"She almost killed me," Zenko admitted. "But she's okay now!"

Zenko pointed to her friend, who was standing alongside her sister and Fubuki. Fubuki was supporting her personal assistant, whose eyes were glazed over. The esper was having an intense discussion with the police. Saitama and Genos were in the background, talking about supermarket sales.

A large woman suddenly walked over to Fubuki and the girls. She was around Fubuki's height, and wore a pale red shirt and jeans. She had Poppy's light brown hair, and similar facial features.

Lily went pale. Her sister hid her face in Lily's shirt.

"Ah, Lily!" the woman exclaimed. "You poor, silly thing! You got hurt!"

"Who are you?" Fubuki asked the woman.

"Why, hasn't Lily talked about me?" the woman laughed. "I'm her mother, of course! Call me Petunia."

"Ah," Fubuki offered her hand. "I am the B Class hero, Blizzard of Hell. I'm Lily's boss. It's nice to meet you."

They shook hands.

"Pleasure to meet you too!" Petunia gave a lipstick-covered grin. She turned her blue eyes to Poppy. "Oh, Poppy, my dear daughter! You've done something very bad, haven't you?"

Poppy didn't respond.

"Come on, dear," her mother held out a hand. "Time to go home!"

She grabbed Poppy's arm. Poppy was dragged after her, like a doll.

"Wait, Mother…" Lily croaked. "You can't…"

"Hmm?" Petunia faced her.

"You can't," Lily repeated, grimly. "I know what you're going to do to her… I can't let you."

"What are you talking about, Lily?" Petunia asked, still smiling. "You must be delusional!"

"You're going to hurt her…" Lily said.

"The poor dear," Petunia sighed, shaking her head. "Must've hit her head during the fight, hmm? Go to hospital and rest up."

"No…" Lily said, weakly. She didn't have enough strength. Tears fell out of her eyes. She grabbed onto Fubuki's arm. "Fubuki-sama… I'm not lying… she's going to hurt her… she's…"

Fubuki frowned. Lily wouldn't lie. She was an honest girl. But still…

"Hey, wait, Poppy!" another voice chirped. Zenko ran over, her brother behind her.

"Oh!" Lily's mother smiled at her. "Is this a friend of yours, Poppy?"

Poppy started crying.

"How nice," Petunia drawled, quickly. "Well, we really should be off. Goodbye!"

"No…!" Lily whimpered, holding out a hand. "You can't!"

Fubuki frowned. "Lily, we really should get you to hospital."

"No...!" Lily repeated, tearfully. "P-Poppy! No!"

She pulled out her staff. With the last of her strength, she hobbled towards her mother and sister. Every step felt like Hell, but she'd made a promise. She was going to follow through with it.

"Lily!" Fubuki exclaimed. "Stop!"

"No more of this…" Lily said, grabbing her mother's arm. "This is… partly your fault as well. You… you made her feel this way. You made me feel like that as well. You're… you're a monster."

Petunia looked disgusted. "Wha- Lily! Now you're just being ridiculous!"

Zenko frowned, and stared at the woman. "I remember Poppy told me you called her stupid!"

Petunia laughed, nervously. "Poppy's such a joker, you know? I've never done such a thing."

Fubuki crossed her arms. "Now that I think about it… I've known Lily for a few years, and she hardly ever talks about you. As well as that, she constantly overworks herself and overstays her welcome, like she never wants to go home."

The woman sweat-beaded. "Well, now, Lily's a diligent worker. She's very studious!"

"I ain't no doctor, but I always thought there was somethin' weird with Poppy over there," Badd added. "She said no one ever spends time with her. Always actin' sad, too."

"She's capable of looking after herself," Petunia retorted. "She's very independent for her age."

Badd scowled. "She's a kid, lady! You expect her to do yer grocery shoppin' or somethin'?"

Petunia's eye twitched. "Of course not, you di- um, lovely young man. Now if you excuse us-"

"Hold on," Fubuki said. She turned to her assistant, who was struggling to stay awake.

"Oh, Lily," she sighed, holding her arm. She wrapped it around her shoulder. She frowned, and stared at her mother. "Your own daughter is collapsing on the spot, and all you want to do is leave?"

"I have places to be," Petunia said quickly, looking away.

"Surely nothing is more important than the safety of your own child," Fubuki retorted.

"How dare you!" Petunia scowled, a vein appearing on her forehead. "You heroes know nothing about raising a child!"

"Apparently, neither do you," Fubuki deadpanned.

Petunia looked angry now. "Enough of this! You're wasting my time!"

"You're hurting my friend!" Zenko retorted.

"Oh shut up, you little brat," Petunia growled.

"What the Hell did you just say?!" Badd asked, holding up his bat. "Ya think ya can talk to my sister like that?"

"I can talk to her however I want," Petunia snapped. "You may be Class S, but that doesn't give you the right to do anything to me."

Badd got into her personal space. "You wanna test that theory, bitch?"

"Hold on," Fubuki stepped between them. She turned to Petunia. "As a hero, it is my job to save those in need. And from what I've seen… both your daughters are definitely in need. I heard some of what Lily said to Poppy… you have been abusing her, haven't you? As well as that, Lily is working all the time. I'm not an expert on this topic, but it seems she is avoiding you. Is this because of abuse?"

"She works because she has to," Petunia grumbled. "I'm not abusing my children! How could you? Lily works to earn a living for us!"

"What?" Fubuku asked. She glowed a faint green. "Are you insinuating that you are _extorting your own daughter_? Lily is a _child_! Are you that disgusting?"

"Of course I don't!" Petunia yelled. "I'm disabled! I can't work!"

"According to her record, she is not disabled," Genos said, appearing from behind. "Which means she must be extorting her daughter."

"Shut up, you piece of shit," Petunia growled. "I'll call the police on you!"

"Good idea," Fubuki said, scowling. "Police! I have something to report."

The police came over.

"Fuck you!" Petunia raged, holding Poppy close. "You're a damn slut!"

"Fubuki-sama…" Lily coughed, staring up at her boss. "You're amazing…"

"I know," Fubuki replied. "And so are you."

"I did okay then…?" Lily asked, barely above a whisper.

"You did great," Fubuki assured her, tears forming in her own eyes. "I'm very proud of you."

Lily smiled, and closed her eyes.

"Lily!" Poppy shouted. "Is she okay?"

"She has internal bleeding," Genos said, "she needs immediate medical attention."

Doctors appeared, taking Lily away.

"Fuck you heroes!" Petunia screeched. "Fuck you all!"

"Watch yer fuckin' language!" Badd yelled. He covered his mouth, while Zenko facepalmed. "Oh, dammit..."

Fubuki rolled her eyes, taking Poppy's hand. Poppy was staring at Zenko, though.

"Zenko…" she said. "I'm so sorry… about all the things I said... everything I did..."

Zenko smiled. "It's okay! Just get better."

Poppy returned the smile tearfully. As the group dispersed, Saitama scowled at a flyer in his hand.

"Dammit," he muttered. "I missed the sale!"


	18. Hospital visit

**A/N: Changed the cover... again. I know I've already changed it twice but this time it's got more characters on it. XD**

* * *

"Big bro!"

"Yeah?"

"Can we visit Lily in hospital?"

Badd looked up from his phone as his sister sat next to him on the couch.

"If ya want," he said. "That reminds me, I gotta talk to yer... _friend_... Poppy 'bout somethin'."

Zenko glowered. "Bro, we've been over this! Poppy's not an evil monster anymore. She's back to being my friend."

Badd scowled. "Yeah, but she almost killed ya, Zenko. She could turn into a monster again."

"She's not going to turn into a monster anymore," Zenko insisted.

"How do you know that?" Badd asked, his tone serious.

Zenko glared at her brother. "Because she's my friend! And I just know!"

Badd sighed, and gently grabbed his sister's shoulder. "Look, Zenko, I know yer happy that ya have a friend, but... that kid is dangerous. She's, what's the word, _unpredictable_. I don't want anythin' bad to happen to you."

"Badd, she's the only real friend I've ever had!" Zenko argued, tears building in her eyes. "You can't take her away from me!"

"Zenko, I..." he started, but Zenko got off the couch and walked away, sobbing. Badd sighed. This was going to be a mess.

* * *

Badd wasn't a big fan of the hospital, but yet, here he was. He had to do something to make it up to his little sister.

Poppy's mother was currently being sectioned, and her father seemed to be estranged, so she was currently being cared for by Fubuki. At least, until Lily got out of hospital. The Hero Association was still trying to figure out what to do with Poppy herself. She was dangerous. She'd turned into a monster.

But she managed to turn back into a human, a thing not many monsters achieved. Could she be trusted?

One thing was for sure, Badd still had his reservations about her, despite how much Zenko whined. After Poppy had literally almost _killed_ Zenko, he didn't like the idea of her being around his baby sister anymore. Even if Poppy made Zenko happy, he was keeping an eye out. Hero duties could screw themselves. From now on, he was picking Zenko up from school no matter what. And he was going to 'talk' to Poppy for sure.

After almost getting lost in hospital, Badd and his sister managed to find the ward where Lily was staying. They stood outside the door. Inside, Lily was lying on a bed, covered in bandages and a hospital gown. Without her suit, she really looked her age. On the bedside table were some lilies in a vase, get-well cards, and other such things. Poppy was sitting in a seat next to her. A man with black hair and glasses was also sitting there, holding Lily's hand.

"... just know, you and Poppy will always have a home with me," he told Lily, gently. "And I am truly sorry for not being around. I… I'm a coward. I feared your mother. I'm not a man who deserves to have a hero daughter."

"It's okay, Dad," Lily replied, smiling. "I can look after myself."

"Lily!" Zenko chirped, her brother leaning against the doorway. The sisters gazed at them, smiling.

Lily's father gazed in their direction as well. "Oh, looks like your friends are here, Lily." He stood up. "I'd better go. You don't want your old man to embarrass you in front of a boy."

"Dad!" Lily went red.

Her father laughed, and left the room.

"Poppy!" Zenko said, running over to her friend. They hugged tightly.

"You still want to be friends?" Poppy asked, surprised. "Even after…?"

"Of course!" Zenko replied. "You're not a monster anymore, right?"

"I don't think your brother likes me…" Poppy whispered. Badd was glaring at her, giving her a look like _if my sister didn't like you you'd be dead where you stand. _Meanwhile, Lily was hiding her face in her pillow.

"Don't worry about him," Zenko whispered back, "he's a dummy. He's just angry about… y'know."

"Yeah…" Poppy frowned. "Um… so, did you come to visit my sister?"

Zenko nodded. She turned to Lily, who was still hiding her face in her pillow.

"Are you okay, Lily?" Zenko asked her.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine!" Lily responded, sitting up straight. She avoided eye contact with Metal Bat.

"Lily thinks your brother is hot," Poppy whispered to Zenko, "so she's always shy around him."

"Really?" Zenko whispered back.

"She's also upset because she isn't wearing her brassiere pads," Poppy added.

"What are brassiere pads?" Zenko asked.

"What are you two talking about…?" Lily asked, frowning.

"Big bro," Zenko turned to Badd, "what are brassiere pads?"

Her brother sweat-beaded. "Uh… well…"

"P-Poppy!" Lily spluttered, even more red. "I can't believe you told her about that!"

Poppy tapped her fingers together. "Heh."

There was an awkward silence.

"Hey, kid," Badd glared down at Poppy. "Can I... talk to ya for a sec?"

"Uh, sure..." Poppy coughed, not liking the look the S Class hero was giving her. The two left the room, leaving Zenko and Lily alone.

"Uhhh," Lily spoke up. "He isn't going to... _hurt_ her, is he?"

Zenko shook her head. "I made him promise he wouldn't hurt her. Big bro never breaks his promises. Because if he does, I'll knock him out!"

Lily had no doubt that Zenko absolutely would knock him out.

"Alright, kid," Badd grunted, giving Poppy the evil eye. "I'll be honest: I don't like you. I don't trust you. I dunno why Zenko wants to stay friends with ya, but since ya make her happy, I'll let you stay friends."

"You're not going to... beat me up?" Poppy asked, playing with her hands.

Badd tch-ed. "You got lucky, kiddo. My lil' sis made me promise not to hurt ya."

"Oh..." Poppy said, silently thanking the gods.

"But," Badd leaned down menacingly, looking her straight in the eye, "if you ever lay a hand on my baby sister ever again, I'll bash yer head open and leave yer body in a place no one will find it. You understand?"

Poppy went pale, stepping back. "Y-yes sir..."

Badd stood up again, still glaring at her. "I'm watchin' ya, kid."

He walked away, leaving Poppy to her thoughts.

_Wow..._ she mused. _I can see why he's an S Class hero... _

* * *

"So, how are ya feelin'?" Badd asked Lily.

"Oh! G-Getting better, I suppose," Lily responded, shaking. "I had internal bleeding, s-so I was out for a few days, but I'm just resting now… heh…"

"The Blizzard Group visited before," Poppy added.

"That they did," Lily agreed. "All 35 members."

"How'd they fit in here?" Badd asked.

Lily grimaced. "They didn't. It was like playing sardines… except I was stuck in this bed, and that made it much worse."

"Sister, it's 36 members now," Poppy told her.

"Oh yeah, my mistake," Lily blushed. "Still think you're a little young but… great to have you onboard, Poppy!"

"You're a member of the Blizzard Group?" Zenko asked Poppy.

Poppy nodded.

"Big bro!" Zenko gasped. "Can I join the Blizzard Group too?"

Her brother took a double take. "No way."

"Why not?" Zenko whined.

"Yer already in that Saitama thing," Badd answered, "and that's more than enough."

"What a shame," a new voice said. "We're always open to new members."

Fubuki was at the doorway, arms crossed.

"Miss Blizzard!" Lily chirped.

"You're always welcome to come to the Christmas party, though," Fubuki added. "Tickets are on sale next month!"

"Can I go?" Zenko asked her brother. "Can I go? Can I? Please?"

Badd ran his hand through his hair. "I'll think 'bout it."

"We'd love to have you!" Lily cheered. She went red again. "If you're not, um, busy, or anything…"

"Well, in all seriousness…" Fubuki raised her hand. A letter surrounded in blue light levitated through the air, landing in Lily's lap. "... that's for you."

"It's from the Hero Association," Lily said, looking over the letter. "... am I getting fired?"

"I would not allow that to happen," Fubuki assured her. She gazed at Poppy. "You will need to come with me, dear. The Hero Association wishes to meet with you."

Poppy looked nervous. "O… okay."

"What are they gonna do to her?" Zenko asked, worried.

Fubuki glanced in the other direction, locking her fingers together. "I'm not totally sure, dear. I would like to believe nothing too… drastic."

Poppy was sweating now.

Lily, meanwhile, was opening her letter. She pulled out a sheet of paper, and almost choked on her own saliva.

"Lily?!" Poppy turned to her sister.

"Class B… rank 10…" Lily responded, eyes watering.

"That performance of yours was worthy of A Class, or maybe even S Class," Fubuki told her. "However, since there were other heroes there, you unfortunately did not quite make it."

"It's okay, Fubuki-sama," Lily smiled. "If I got into A Class, I'd have to leave your group, wouldn't I?"

"I couldn't kick you out," Fubuki told her. "You are my personal assistant, after all. You'd be lost without me."

"You're so generous, Fubuki-sama," Lily told her, still teary-eyed.

"I know," Fubuki said.

Lily then passed out.

"I had a feeling that would happen soon enough," Fubuki sighed. She held out a hand. "Come on, Poppy. The Association doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Poppy frowned, tears in her eyes. "See ya, Zenko…"

The friends shared one more goodbye hug. Zenko soon also had tears streaming down her cheeks, in fear for one of her only friends. If she lost Poppy, she'd be back to square one. Tareo was nice, but he wasn't her best friend. He wasn't Poppy. She respected Zenko, been kind to her without sucking up to her brother, and despite turning into a monster, she'd stayed a good person. Poppy felt the same. Zenko was her only friend. For the longest time, she didn't have anyone else. Not even her own family. She'd envied her friend, but cared for her all the same. She lived with the regret of hurting her every day.

"I'll make it up to you, one day," Poppy told Zenko.

"Keep being my friend," Zenko said.

"I will," Poppy sniffled.

The heroes watched the two, in a serene but short-lived silence.

"The Blizzard Group is open to S Class heroes," Fubuki told Metal Bat.

He scowled. "Not a chance, lady."

Fubuki sighed. "It was worth a shot, I suppose."

Finally, the hug broke apart, and Poppy miserably followed the esper out of the room. Zenko cried into her brother's arms as he carried her out of the hospital.

"She's my only friend!" she wailed. "Big bro, I can't let her get taken away!"

"I'm sure she'll be fine," he comforted her. "And there's plenty of other kids at school, ain't there?"

"Not like her," Zenko replied. "They don't like me."

"That Tareo kid?" her brother asked.

"He's nice, but he probably only likes me because of you," Zenko admitted.

There was a silence.

"You ain't bein' bullied, are ya?" Badd asked her, seriously.

"No, big bro," Zenko answered. "I'm not scared of bullies! I just… wish it was easier to make friends."

"Well, even if ya don't make any friends, big bro's got yer back," Badd told her.

"Lil sis has your back too, bro," Zenko replied, giving him that contagious smile. She tilted her head. "That reminds me… big bro, what are brassiere pads?"

Badd sweat-beaded. "Oh, great."

* * *

**A/N: Protective Badd is life, right? XD **

**Should I write a chapter about the Blizzard Group Christmas party... let me know **


	19. Beach day!

The weather was awful. The sun felt like it was burning the house up, and the air conditioner wasn't doing anything to make it better.

"It's sooooooooo hot," Zenko groaned. "Bro, why isn't the air con working?"

"I dunno," Badd grumbled. "It's a piece of crap!"

Zenko stared at him. "We need to do something! It's so hot and boring in here!"

She thought about it. What did families normally do when it was really hot…? That's when she got an idea!

"Bro!" she chirped. "We should go to the beach!"

"No way," he grunted. "It'll be packed."

"Tareo told me there's a beach in City Z that usually isn't busy," Zenko replied.

"City Z's kinda far," her brother pointed out.

"Oh come on!" Zenko grabbed her brother's arm, and began to tug on it. "We can't stay here all day! Besides, you promised me we'd do whatever I wanted today!"

"Alright, alright," Badd said, sitting up. "We'll go to the beach."

Zenko looked satisfied. "Help me find my swimsuit!"

* * *

Some time later, the siblings were ready to go. Zenko made her brother take her inflated tube as well, which he spent way too long blowing air into. She was wearing a frilly, pink one-piece swimsuit, while her brother was wearing a red, unbuttoned floral t-shirt and black khaki shorts. They were wearing pink and blue thongs (or flip flops), respectively. He was holding his bat over his shoulder, and using his other arm to hold a beach ball and their other things.

The two arrived at the beach, which thankfully, wasn't too busy. There were a few young kids and some teens in the distance, who were engrossed in a game of beach volleyball.

Zenko grabbed her brother's hand. "Come on! Let's go swimming!"

"Put on yer sunscreen first," he told her.

After getting lathered in sunscreen (Badd did not want his sister to get some kind of skin cancer), the siblings could finally go swimming. Zenko jumped over the waves, carrying her inflated tube into the water. Her brother followed her, making sure she didn't go in too deep.

Zenko placed the tube on the water and sat on it. She grinned as she floated over the waves. So peaceful. She almost fell asleep. Her brother, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on her, as well as avoiding getting his pompadour wet.

Zenko suddenly screamed in terror.

"Zen?!" Badd shouted. "What's wrong?!"

"Shark!" Zenko cried.

A shark fin was cruising through the water, approaching Zenko. Conveniently, the theme from Jaws was playing in the background.

"Oh Hell no, fishy," Badd growled, holding out his bat, which he had with him because reasons. "You ain't gettin' anywhere near her!"

He stood in front of Zenko, ready to bash the shark's head in, when the fin suddenly stopped, a few meters in front of him.

Badd glowered at it. "Scared, fishy?"

The shark fin then began to rise out of the water.

"Big bro!" Zenko whimpered, hiding behind her brother's legs. Badd prepared to attack the shark…

… when it was revealed that the shark was in fact not a shark at all, but Watchdog Man with a shark fin on his head.

"... what the Hell?" Badd slowly lowered his bat.

"This isn't City Q," Watchdog Man muttered. "Oh well. Hot day anyway, good for a swim."

He then paddled out of the water in a dog-like fashion.

"Was that Watchdog Man?" Zenko asked.

"Think so," Badd grunted.

"Why was he there?" Zenko asked.

"No idea," Badd shrugged.

Zenko sighed. "Whatever. Let's go back to the shore. I wanna play with the beach ball!"

Badd carried his sister out of the water and back onto the beach. They tossed the beach ball back and forth between each other. Zenko kept trying to throw the ball really hard. Meanwhile, her brother was doing the exact opposite, so he didn't accidentally hit her in the face.

Zenko put a little too much power into one throw, and sent the ball flying across the beach.

"Big bro!" she whined.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Badd told her. He picked up his bat and headed across the beach. He found the orange ball lying in the sand, not too far from the crashing waves. He leaned down to pick it up, when he heard a voice.

"Oh my God! Are you Metal Bat?"

Badd, the ball tucked under his arm, turned to face some girls in bikinis.

"Yep," he replied, nonchalantly. The girls squealed.

"You're soooo hot," one of them giggled. "And so strong!"

"I'm in your fan club!" another cried. "I'm your number one fan!"

"Can I have a photo with you?" a third asked, eyes shining.

"Uh, sure," Badd replied. The girl grinned hugely, took out her phone. Her friends got in the frame as Badd put an arm around the girl with the phone.

"OMG!" the girl screamed. "He's touching me!"

After the photo was taken, the girls kept giggling.

"Hang out with us!" one of them chirped. "We're having ice-cream!"

"Sorry, girls," Badd rubbed the back of his head. "Can't. My lil sis is waiting for me."

"Aww!" the girls squealed. "He's so thoughtful!"

"I want his children!" said some random guy, getting a huge nosebleed.

A different girl sighed, hugging herself. "He's a normal person guys, hero or not. Calm down."

Unlike the others, she was wearing a grey cardigan, and a sun-hat obscuring her face. Something about her was familiar…

"Oh don't be so boring, Carly," one of the girls scoffed. "Take off that dumb sun-hat!"

"Carly?" Badd asked. He scowled. "Aren'tcha that chick that insulted my lil' sis, then tried ta' blackmail me?!"

Carly looked away. "Yeah… that's me."

Badd held out his bat. "Would've beat the shit outta ya if my sis wasn't there. Don'tcha ever do that again or yer gonna wish you were dead."

The girls gasped. "He's protective of his sister! So cute!"

"Nanniiiiii," the random guy moaned.

"I already wish I was dead," Carly sighed, staring at her feet. "Look… I'm really sorry about all of that. I was… conceited. Arrogant. A damn idiot. I thought I could get whatever I wanted… but… you gave me a change of heart. I realised that… you can't always get what you want. Life's not fair, and… in the end, I just have to live with it. So… I'm really, _really_ sorry, Badd. To your sister as well. She seems like a nice kid."

Badd wasn't expecting her to apologise. He continued glowering at her.

"Yeah yeah," he said, lowering his weapon. "Still watchin' ya."

Carly nodded, and smiled, sadly. "I know." She then walked away.

"Big brooooooooo!" Zenko yelled across the beach. "What's taking so long?!"

"Gotta go," he told the other girls. "See ya!"

"So handsome!" they squealed as Badd ran over to his sister.

"Big bro!" she scowled, pulling on his ear. "What took you so long?!"

"Really sorry," he replied profusely, rubbing his ear. "Bro got distracted!"

"You were talking to some girls!" Zenko grumbled.

"They just wanted to take a photo with me," Badd said.

Zenko still looked annoyed, and folded her arms.

"I'm really sorry," Badd told her, as she gave him the cold shoulder. "Look, how 'bout we go and get some ice-cream?"

Zenko liked that idea. She rode on her brother's shoulders as he took her over to the ice-cream stand. Thankfully, it wasn't too busy.

And guess who was working there?

"Have a great day!" Lily chirped, as a young boy walked away, licking his ice-cream. She was wearing a white apron, and a white hat. Her lily had returned to the top of her ponytail.

"Seriously?" Badd asked her.

"Oh!" Lily went red. "Metal Bat! Hello!"

"Ya work here too?" Metal Bat asked her.

"Yes," Lily said, shyly.

"I'm here too!" Poppy exclaimed, appearing from behind the counter. She was wearing a Hero Association t-shirt.

"Poppy!" Zenko cheered.

"Poppy!" Lily scolded, grabbing her sister's ponytail. "How many times do I have to tell you?! Stay underneath the counter!"

"But it's so boring there," Poppy whined.

"Do you want to go back to the Hero Association building?" Lily asked.

Poppy disappeared beneath the counter.

"What's… goin' on?" Badd asked.

"Well," Lily coughed, "Poppy is currently on… _probation_. She's meant to be staying in a cell at the Hero Association building, but she kept ringing me and complaining about how bored she was, so… the Blizzard Group snuck her out. Now she's stuck with me until the Hero Association finds out and I probably get kicked out."

"Still better than my phone calls," Poppy said.

"True," Lily sighed. She smoothed out her shirt, and faced the siblings. "Anyway, what can I get you?"

After Badd and Zenko got their ice-cream, they took a walk along the beach.

Zenko held her brother's hand. "Big bro, look! It's Genos and Saitama!"

Indeed, the heroes in question were up ahead, both shirtless. It seemed they were blowing up a float of some kind. For some reason, it was a giant pink flamingo.

"The Hell are they doin' here?" Badd asked. Of course, his sister had already run off. He sighed internally.

"Master, I believe that should be enough air," Genos said, holding up the float.

"Phew," Saitama wiped some sweat off his brow. "Come on, let's get this show on the road."

"Saitama!" Zenko chirped, approaching the heroes. "Genos!"

"Oh, hey, Metal Knight's little sister," Saitama greeted.

"Metal _Bat_, Master," Genos corrected.

"Meh," Saitama shrugged. "They're basically the same person."

"What are you guys doing?" Zenko asked.

"We are taking this float out to sea," Genos answered. "We will be sitting in it and floating over the waves. According to Master Saitama, it is quite relaxing."

"Can I come too?" Zenko asked.

"No way," her brother responded, appearing behind her.

"Why not?" Zenko whined.

"'Cause I don't trust these guys," Badd said, taking her hand. Sure, they were heroes, but they were still adult men.

Zenko rolled her eyes. "Bro, we've been over this a thousand times! They're not gonna do anything weird!"

"Still a nope," Badd replied.

Zenko teared up. Badd felt the usual rush of panic and guilt.

"Don't cry," he told her, quickly. "Look! I'll get a big float for us, and we'll go on it together. How 'bout it?"

"You promise?" Zenko asked.

"'Course I do," her brother said. "Not today, though. It's gettin' pretty late."

"But I wanna go on a float now!" Zenko grumbled.

"We'll go to that pool ya wanted ta go to, next week," Badd said. "We'll go on it there."

Zenko seemed to like that idea. Her brother let her ride on his shoulders again as they prepared to head home.

"Hey, Genos," Saitama faced his disciple. "Why did you buy the flamingo float?"

"It was the cheapest one the store offered, Master," Genos replied.

Saitama clapped Genos' shoulder. "That's my disciple. Now come on, let's do this thing!"

Of course, it ended with Saitama accidentally destroying the float when punching a real shark in the face. But what can you do?


	20. Tama's kittens

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while. I was distracted by my other stories (mainly One Punch Simulator lol), and for some reason, I was a bit unmotivated about this story. But I'm back now! Have you guys seen the new s2 OVA? As well as that, season 2 is getting a dub, so yeah, the scene with Zenko and MB has been dubbed now. Cool, right? Anyway, happy reading! This chapter was inspired by a cute pic I saw. :D Sorry it's a bit short, I'm kind of crap with writing fluffy moments lol. **

**(went back and changed another chapter too so) **

* * *

Tama was acting weird… again.

She'd mysteriously put on more weight, despite the fact that her owners had cut down on her food intake.

"Big bro," Zenko grabbed her brother's hand. "Does Tama look… um, _fatter_ to you?"

"Now that ya mention it…" Badd observed his pet cat curiously. "She kinda does."

"Is she sick?" Zenko asked. She gasped. "Bro, call the vet!"

Badd hesitated. The last time they went to the vet, it cost a ton of money, and that was only for a brief check-up. Plus, he felt guilty about putting Tama in a cage. He wasn't too keen to go back there.

"Let's just leave it for a bit," he told his sister. "If she's still like this in a week, we'll go."

"No!" Zenko whined. "She could be dying!"

"Don't think she's dyin'," Badd said. He kneeled down to pet Tama. "She's got fightin' spirit. She'll pull through."

Zenko's eyes were full of tears.

"Don't cry," her brother consoled, "she's gonna be okay! C'mon, I promise, if she's not okay next week, we'll take her straight to the vet."

Zenko still didn't look happy.

"How about we go and get some ice-cream?" Badd suggested.

That seemed to make her feel a little better, but she was still noticeably worried. Badd couldn't lie, he felt the same.

* * *

A week passed. Zenko had been checking up on Tama everyday, and had half a mind to book a vet appointment herself.

In other words, the cat hadn't improved at all.

"I don't know much about cats," Poppy admitted, after Zenko told her what was going on. "Mom never let us have pets."

"Maybe she's pregnant," Tareo commented.

"No way!" Zenko argued. "I haven't seen any boy cats around!"

"Then… I don't know," Tareo shrugged. "Maybe she had an allergic reaction to something. My cat's allergic to grass."

"Ouch," Poppy said. "How does it go outside?"

"He doesn't," Tareo replied. "He's inside all the time."

Zenko sighed, tuning out from the conversation. She could only wait until her brother said it was time.

_Tama, please, be okay_, she thought.

* * *

Then Tama disappeared.

She wasn't around at all, not even for dinner. Zenko's grandparents hadn't seen her, either (not that they paid much attention to Tama). Zenko held out Tama's favourite brand of cat food and shouted her name, but that didn't help. The cat was gone.

So that was how Zenko and her brother spent the majority of the evening searching for Tama.

"Tama!" Badd yelled, looking over the fence. "Come to Mommy!"

Zenko searched behind the shed.

"She's not there, either," she said, frowning.

"Dammit!" Badd roared, clenching his fists. "Where is my baby?!"

"Did she run away?" Zenko asked, tearfully.

"I'm sure she's somewhere," Badd said, changing his tone. "We just gotta keep lookin'."

Zenko wiped her eyes. She walked past the shed, head bowed down. That's when she heard a strange noise coming from a bush. It almost sounded like… meowing?

Zenko made her way over to the bush, trembling. She pulled the leaves apart, and gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Big bro!" she shouted. "Big bro! Come here!"

"What's wrong?" he asked, running over. He looked into the bushes, and almost dropped his bat. "Oh my God…"

Sitting in the bushes was Tama, and some newborn kittens.

Badd fell to his knees, tears appearing in his eyes.

"MY BABY IS A MOTHER!" he wept.

* * *

Zenko giggled as she watched the kittens. She leaned over her brother's shoulder as the kittens playfully ran around, while their mother kept an eye on them.

Badd sat there, oddly patient for a person like him. He let the ginger and white balls of fluff climb all over him, like he was a large climbing post of some kind. Zenko reached down over his shoulders to pet one of them. It was the only white kitten. Badd hasn't seen Zenko this happy for a while, and she was happy, then so was he.

He didn't care what his grandparents would say. These kittens were going to stay.

"Which one is your favourite, big bro?" Zenko asked her brother.

"Dunno," he said. "What 'bout you?"

"That one!" Zenko replied, pointing to the white kitten crawling up Badd's chest. "Because it reminds me of you!"

Badd smiled down at the kitten. "Oh yeah? Whatcha gonna name 'em?"

"Badd, duh," Zenko rolled her eyes. "Maybe lil' Badd!"

"He's a cutie, ain't he?" Badd asked.

"She," Zenko corrected. "She's the only girl in the litter!"

"Yer namin' the only girl after me?" Badd asked, incredulously.

Zenko glared at him. "Yes! She's just like you! She's got fighting spirit! She was the runt of the litter, but she survived!"

Badd laughed. "Well, she's definitely got fightin' spirit."

Lil' Badd stared up at Badd, who immediately felt an emotional attachment to her. He felt attached to all the kittens, but her especially. He then grew teary-eyed again.

"Zen, I'm a grandfather," he wept.

Zenko rolled her eyes. "Big bro, you're too young to be a grandfather."

"I know," he wept. "But it happened anyway!"

She sighed, staring down at the kittens. "Which one's your favourite?"

"Don't make me pick between my grandchildren!" he sobbed, petting Lil' Badd.

"Whatever, bro," Zenko said. "I've got a favourite. Guess which one!"

"This lil' guy over here?" Badd asked, pointing to a kitten crawling over his thigh.

"That's Zenko Jr," Zenko said. "He's my second-favourite."

"And ya named him after yerself," Badd commented.

Zenko stared at him.

"It's a great name!" Badd told her. "Heck! So, which one is yer favourite?"

"All of them!" Zenko cheered.


	21. Kidnapped

It was a beautiful morning. Zenko was walking to school, her hands on her schoolbag's straps. She kept a small smile on her face. School wasn't too far now. She was hoping Poppy would be there! She'd missed her.

Unluckily for Zenko, she wouldn't get the chance to go to school today.

A figure was lying dormant in the bushes, eyeing Zenko through the leaves. He put a walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Got her," he muttered. "You know what to do."

Zenko swore she heard something in the bushes. She turned around, but there was no one there.

She shrugged, and turned back around. The figure was suddenly standing right in front of her.

"Hello there, dear," he giggled. "Now, be a good girl and come with me."

Zenko screamed. And then everything went black.

* * *

Something was wrong.

First of all, it was the end of the day, and Zenko hadn't come out of school. Badd was worried Poppy might've attacked her again, but Poppy came out of the school, completely normal.

However, Zenko was nowhere in sight.

"Hey," Badd caught Poppy's attention, and gave her the stink eye. "Where's my sister?"

Poppy shivered under his glare. "I-I don't know. S-She didn't come to school today."

Badd frowned. "What?"

"She didn't come to school today," Poppy repeated.

"Yeah, I heard ya," Badd said, still frowning. "That doesn't make sense. Pretty sure Gramps said she was goin' to school today, and she ain't at home. Unless ya did somethin' to her." He glared at Poppy again.

"I didn't do anything to her, I swear," Poppy whimpered. "I don't know where she is…! I just assumed she was sick or something."

Badd pulled out his phone. He sent Zenko a text message, but she didn't reply. Instead, he got a text message from an unknown number. He scowled at it.

?:

_Good afternoon, Badd._

Badd:

_Who the hell are you?_

?:

_That is not important. What is this __fact: we have your sister. She is __unharmed… for the moment. _

Attached was a picture of Zenko tied up, distress all over her face. Badd almost crushed his phone at the sight.

Badd:

_You fucking pieces of shit! __Who are you? I'll fucking kill you!_

?:

_As we said, she is unharmed… __for now. If you ever want to see __her again you must do exactly __what we say. __First of all, you must pay us __100 million yen. After that, we __want all the information you have __on the Hero Association. All their __plans. Their heroes. Everything. __For every day you do not give us __our demands, we will cut off one __of your sister's fingers, and toes. If you __do not do anything for a month, __we will kill her, and leave her corpse __on your doorstep._

Badd:

_Fuck you. __I'll find you and kill you!_

?:

_You have one month. _

He could no longer reply to their messages. A shadow passed over his face. He held up his bat, preparing to race out of the school. Those kidnappers were going to _die_.

"Hold on, Metal Bat."

Badd turned around, and saw Child Emperor leaning against the gate, chewing on his lollipop.

"Get lost," Badd told him. "I'm busy."

"Hold _on_," Child Emperor repeated. "I think I can help you with something."

* * *

"Hmm… yeah, these texts are definitely from IRIS."

"Who?"

Child Emperor sighed, trying to ignore the angry stare his fellow Class S hero was giving him. They were now walking along the path, headed down the street.

"IRIS is a criminal group I've had my eye on for the past few months," Child Emperor explained. "They're mostly involved in cybercrime, especially holding ransoms. They've done it before with some rich families. Unfortunately, they are quite tech-savvy, so the police haven't been able to track them down. Even I've had trouble deciphering their code. I'm still working it out now. From what I've heard, they are serious about their threats, so they will actually kill your sister. They're quite talented with serial coding, and have been able to hack large databases. They also-"

"Yeah yeah," Badd waved his hand. "Who cares 'bout all that? Just tell me where they are!"

"You're the one who asked," Child Emperor muttered. He raised his voice. "They seem to have a few headquarters, but their largest is in the mountain ranges, northeast of City D. I haven't pin-pointed their exact location, so it could-"

"I'm tearin' that place down, right now," Badd interrupted.

"Hey, don't go yet!" Child Emperor yelled. "I still need to do my research on that place. IRIS has a lot of coding I need to look into, and-"

"Who gives a shit 'bout research?!" Badd raged. "They're gonna fuckin' kill my sister!"

Child Emperor glowered at him. "Look, Metal Bat, you can't just go and tear the whole place down, okay? We barely know anything about it. Yeah, I know your sister is in danger, but she's going to have to wait for a bit. We need a proper battle plan!"

"I don't need a plan," the elder hero snapped. "I'm goin' in head-first!"

"God, your head is as thick as your bat!" Child Emperor cursed. "Stop being an arrogant prick and listen to me for a second!"

But Badd was already leaving. Child Emperor gritted his teeth.

"Idiots," he muttered. "They're all idiots!"

* * *

Badd hit some trees out of his face using his bat. He couldn't see anything that looked like a headquarters around, just more trees, and mountains towering into the sky.

"You're going the wrong way."

Badd turned around, facing Child Emperor, who had his arms folded. His backpack had its spider-like legs out, holding him in the air.

"It's back that way," the child prodigy said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"What're you doin' here?" Metal Bat asked.

"You're going to destroy the place before I can get any research on it," Child Emperor grumbled. "So I'm here to salvage what I can."

Badd grunted. He went in the direction Child Emperor pointed, swinging his bat around. The child followed him, muttering under his breath. Then he suddenly stopped.

"Hold on, Metal Bat," he said. "There's someone here."

Badd held up his bat. "Where are they?"

The bushes shivered. Badd approached them, glaring at them

"Get out here, punk," he growled. "Before I make ya!"

Someone climbed out of the bushes, blushing.

"Lily?" Badd asked, lowering his weapon.

"Um," Lily waved. "Hi, Metal Bat… Child Emperor…"

"A Class B hero?" Child Emperor asked, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" Lily kept blushing. "It's kind of a long story, but… um, I… I work for IRIS."

"What?!" both S Class heroes asked.

"It's not what you think!" Lily exclaimed. "I didn't realise they were a criminal group! I was just looking for a new job to try, and they offered me a position as janitor here. The pay was really good, especially for a janitor, so I accepted it. I swear on my heart, mind and soul I had nothing to do with the fact that Zenko got kidnapped! I didn't even know these guys were criminals, until I overheard you two talking to each other… I was horrified, so I decided to follow you here to quit my job, and then, uh, blow up the place!"

She tried to smile. There was a silence.

"So let me get this straight," Child Emperor said. "You work for IRIS, but you were not aware they are a criminal group, until you overheard me talking about them with Metal Bat. Then you followed us all the way here."

"Yep…" Lily said, sheepishly.

Child Emperor laughed. "Wow. And I thought Metal Bat was stupid."

"Hey!" Badd growled.

"On the other hand, though…" the child prodigy smirked. "This gives me an idea."

Lily gulped. She had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Deputy gazed over the alert on his phone. Apparently, there were some intruders in the building right now. The thought of intruders made his skin crawl. He adjusted the visor on his head, sending a message to all soldiers to deal with the intruders.

Almost instantly, the pale teen got a reply back from the soldiers, requesting his assistance. Apparently, these intruders were tougher than originally thought.

Deputy made his way to the front, where the intruders were said to be. He gasped at what he saw. Metal Bat and Child Emperor were there, surrounded by unconscious soldiers. Deputy's eyes watered behind his visor.

"A-Active machine guns..." he said into his earpiece, shakily. "Summon more soldiers."

The machine guns in the walls came out of hiding, only to immediately crawl back in.

"Don't even bother with those," Child Emperor said. "Already hacked them all. Once I figured out the codes, I was able to hack them easily."

Deputy gulped, running a hand through his short, silver hair. His voice gained a desperate edge. "Summon a-a-all the soldiers we have! And active the flame-throwers!"

More soldiers came barging in, while the flame-throwers fizzled out and died. Metal Bat roared out rage, knocking out tons of soldiers at once. Deputy began sweating bullets.

"Activate all the guns we have…" he whimpered, fiddling with his pink hairclip.

It turns out, Child Emperor had hacked most of those, too. Meanwhile, Metal Bat was easily taking out most of the soldiers. It seemed he was getting more and more pumped up.

_Forget this_, Deputy thought, clenching his sparkly shirt. _I'm out of here! _

"So, your boss is behind that wall?" Child Emperor said, glaring at a solider.

"Yes!" the soldier cried. "Please don't kill me!"

Deputy fled for his life. Unluckily for the feminine teen, he happened to trip over his own shoelace. The S Class heroes stood over him.

Child Emperor examined him with a scanner. "Hmm. This guy has a high IQ, yet physically, he's the complete opposite."

Badd pointed his bat at Deputy. "Where's my sister?"

Deputy made a sound that was a cross between a whimper and a scream.

"ANSWER ME, PUNK," Badd bellowed. "WHERE'S MY SISTER?"

"Metal Bat, calm down," Child Emperor chided. "Deputy here doesn't seem to take well to yelling."

"I want to tell you, but if I don't, my b-boss will kill me!" Deputy whimpered.

"Trust us, pal," Child Emperor said. "We can be way scarier than your boss."

Deputy shivered. He knew that the S Class hero was telling the truth.

* * *

Zenko, for the tenth time, tried to escape. But no matter what she did, she couldn't budge the ropes.

"You'll never escape," a voice cackled. It belonged to the man who'd kidnapped her. His name was Ohcysp, and he was the leader of IRIS. He had the smile of a psychopath, and the attire of a mad scientist. He was leaning against the wall, a smug smirk on his face.

"My brother will come and save me!" Zenko told him. "You watch!"

"Your brother is a pathetic whelp," Ohcysp retorted. "No matter how much you cry for him, he'll never come!"

Zenko glowered at him. "Don't underestimate my big bro! Once he gets here, I'll show you!"

Ohcysp laughed. "He will never find this place. Not even the top police can find our location. You will die here, all alone!"

"Um, excuse me, sir," Deputy ran in, bleeding from his forehead. His arm was badly twisted. "But, um… Metal Bat and Child Emperor are here."

"What?" Ohcysp bellowed. "How did they find us?!"

"Told you," Zenko smirked.

Ohcysp bared his teeth. "Skin them alive! And put the cameras on so this stupid child can watch her brother die!"

"Um, sir," the teen played with his hands. "They've already taken down half our forces, and Child Emperor hacked most of our weapons. Metal Bat also told me to tell you he's going to 'bash yer damn head in'. He's on his way here now, and he looked really mad. He almost killed me with one hit… W-With all due respect, sir, I don't think kidnapping his sister was a good idea."

"Silence!" Ohcysp roared. "Keep your opinions out of here, you blasphemous moron!" He puffed out his chest. "It seems we don't have a choice… Deputy, release the Kraken!"

Deputy gasped. "No, sir! You can't! It's too dangerous!"

"Do it!" his boss screamed. "Or I'll skin _you_ alive!"

"Yes sir!" Deputy said, saluting. He then ran out of the room to 'release the Kraken'.

"Bwahaha!" Ohcysp cackled. "Those pathetic S Class heroes don't stand a chance against the Kraken! Now for-"

He was interrupted by Lily walking in, holding a mop and bucket. Zenko gasped.

"Ah, Janitor Lily!" the man exclaimed. "About time you got here! Clean the floors, would you? I need to keep an eye on the Kraken!"

He laughed evilly and left the room.

"Lily?" Zenko asked. Lily put a finger to her lips.

"Don't worry," she told Zenko. "We're getting out of here."

And with that, she began to untie the kid.

* * *

"According to my research, and what that Deputy guy told us, IRIS is run by this guy called Ohcysp," Child Emperor said, looking at the bodies of fallen enemies. He and Badd were walking through a long hallway, trying to locate Zenko. "He's a maniac, but also a genius. He's great at building robots, while I believe Deputy is better at coding."

"And I'm gonna kill him," Badd said, placing the top of his bat in his hand.

"Don't _actually_ kill him, please," the child replied. "I'd like to question Ohcysp about some things."

"He kidnapped my sis," Badd replied. "What else do ya need ta' know?"

Child Emperor sighed. "I regret working with you."

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble. The soldiers that hadn't been knocked out began running around and screaming. One fell over and had a panic attack.

"What the…" Child Emperor trailed off. A ginormous creature emerged from the ground, towering over the S Class heroes. It looked like a giant squid, with beady, black eyes and multiple tentacles. It made a screeching sound that could be considered a battle cry.

"Heh," Badd grinned, spitting into his hand. "Well, whaddya know. I was in the mood for some takoyaki."

He jumped up to the Kraken's face, hitting it with his bat. It roared, fumbling backwards. Child Emperor pitched in by shooting it with one of his machines. With the combined power of two S Class heroes, the Kraken wasn't faring too well.

"Oh my God…" Deputy breathed, about to have a panic attack himself. "They're hurting it!"

Badd saw him standing there, and cracked his knuckles. "Hey there, punk. Back for another beating?"

Deputy screamed like a little girl and ran away.

"Metal Bat!" Child Emperor shouted. The Kraken was somehow getting back up, tentacles swirling around it like a tornado.

The teen held up his bat. "I got it!"

He grabbed onto one of its tentacles, so it tried to shake him off. That backfired horribly when the hero landed on the Kraken's face.

"Dragon thrashin'!" he roared, slamming his bat into its face. The Kraken fell backwards, crashing into the ground. The walls cracked, and debris fell from the ceiling. Metal Bat landed in front of the Kraken, and folded his arms.

"Not bad," Child Emperor commented, scowling. "But I think the _real_ threat is here now."

Ohcysp appeared from behind the heroes, a smug grin on his face. Deputy was cowering behind him, whimpering.

"Are you that Ohcysp guy?" Badd asked him.

"Indeed," Ohcysp replied. "I must congratulate you on defeating the Kraken. Perhaps you S Class heroes aren't so incompetent after all. However, I'm afraid to say your story ends here."

"Where's my sister?" Badd demanded.

Ohcysp cackled. "Locked up in a place you'll never find her! Now, prepare to die, fools!"

The madman was wielding two powerful machine guns. Jet wings appeared on his back.

"Nice guns," Child Emperor commented, "but I can do better."

"Try me, moron!" Ohcysp roared. He fired his bullets. Child Emperor used a shield to surround himself and Metal Bat.

"Where's my sister?" Badd asked Ohcysp.

Ohcysp cackled. "I'll never tell you, fool!"

Badd slammed his bat into the ground, shaking the whole building. Ohcysp flew into the air, preparing his guns to fire again. Child Emperor joined him in the air, where they fought toe-to-toe.

"Your weapons are very unique," Child Emperor told Ohcysp. "When we're done here, I'd to take you in for questioning."

"Ha!" Ohcysp. "You talk a lot, kid! Don't you know that children should be seen and not heard?"

Child Emperor chewed through his lollipop. "Yeah, I think I'll let Metal Bat beat you up first."

He slammed Ohcysp into the ground. The madman pulled up his gun before Metal Bat could bash his skull.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" the teen demanded.

"I'll tell you if you give me 100 million yen!" Ohcysp cackled.

He rolled out of the way, narrowly missing Badd's bat. He then began to duel with the teen, both moving lightning-fast. Ohcysp had to admit, he had a few close calls. That bat could very easily kill him with a single blow. Maybe Deputy has been right. Kidnapping his sister hadn't been a good idea after all.

"You know, I, too, have a little sister," Ohcysp confessed. "But I haven't seen her in many years."

He avoided a swing from the metal weapon.

"You see," Ohcysp continued, "my parents thought I was insane. They thought I'd be a negative influence on my sister. So they kicked me out. I was forced to live on the streets."

He jumped backwards. He was starting to get tired, but Badd's swinging just kept getting faster, even though Ohcysp's gun had put a hole in his side.

"I knew I couldn't live on the streets forever," Ohcysp droned. "At first, I committed petty theft. But I didn't enjoy theft. It was too dangerous. So instead, I started making ransoms. That way, I could get much more money. It's so easy to hurt people when you take something they love."

He breathed out, and hovered above ground. Metal Bat glared at him.

"Eventually, other criminals were drawn to me," Ohcysp said. "They wanted to work for me. They liked what I was doing. Soon, I had formed my own group. I built my own headquarters, my own empire. I had tons of money. I was a success! I _am_ a success!"

He aimed a large gun at the hero.

"I'm not going to let you pathetic heroes take away everything I've worked for!" he roared. "I'll never be on the streets again!"

Child Emperor shot Ohcysp with a taser. He crashed into the wall.

"Damn… you…!" he coughed, blood dribbling from his nose. "I'll have your… heads…!"

He pushed a button on a small remote. Suddenly, a multitude of deadly lasers surrounded the heroes. Neither of them were able to move around them. Ohcysp smirked.

"Try and hack through these, brat!" he taunted, glowering at Child Emperor.

The younger S Class hero scowled, glaring at his systems. "Dammit... these ones are impossible to break into!"

"You're dead!" Ohcysp cackled.

"Hey!" an enraged voice yelled. "Don't hurt my big bro!"

Ohcysp turned around, and saw Zenko standing behind him, her hands on her hips.

"Zenko!" Badd shouted. He cursed the lasers keeping him put. "Stay away from that psycho!"

"How did you get out?" Ohcysp demanded.

"Your security system sucks!" Zenko answered. "Now let my big bro and Child Emperor go!"

"No way in Hell," Ohcysp growled. "At least, not until they're dead!"

"Let them go!" Zenko repeated. "Don't you know how terrible you're being? You can't keep hurting people like this!"

"Don't try to lecture me, you juvenile twat," Ohcysp snapped. "I'll kill you!"

"Zenko!" Badd cried out. "Get away from him!"

"You'll never be happy with a life of crime," Zenko told Ohcysp. "You'll be alone forever!"

"And _you're_ about to die!" Ohcysp screamed.

"Then I'll have to unleash my secret weapon!" Zenko announced.

"Secret weapon?" Ohcysp questioned. "What kind of crap is that?"

"Lily, now!" Zenko ordered.

Then Ohcysp suddenly collapsed, and his lasers dissipated alongside him. Standing behind him, weapon in hand, was Lily of the Three-Section Staff.

"Hi," she waved, shyly.

"Not bad," Child Emperor shrugged, "for a B Class hero."

Zenko ran over to her brother. He scooped her up, hugging her tightly.

"You okay?" he asked, emotional.

"I'm fine," Zenko grumbled into his gakuran. "Took you long enough to get here!"

"Zenko," he said, seriously. "Don't ever do something like that again, okay? That was very dangerous."

"I know," she replied, "but he was gonna kill you!"

Badd sighed. "Let's just go home. I'm sick of this dump."


	22. Christmas special

This year, to try something new, the Hero Association decided to hold a huge Christmas party for the Class A heroes and above, as well as executives of the Hero Association. The party took place in the bottom floor of the Hero Association HQ, and all the usuals of Christmas parties were there, such as free food, a huge Christmas tree, Christmas music blaring in the background, and lots of boring speeches.

Each hero and executive member was allowed to bring a family member or friend along if they wished. Obviously enough, Badd brought along his sister Zenko. Now, Badd had initially not planned on going to the Christmas party (mainly because of the boring speeches), but his sister absolutely insisted on going (to her, it sounded like fun), and there was nothing he wouldn't do for her, so there they were.

"Big bro!" Zenko squealed, jumping up and down in her Christmas dress. "It's Sweet Mask!"

_Great_, Badd thought. Indeed, the popular hero was standing on the stage, talking to some executives of the Hero Association. He was wearing a Christmas hat, and his usual pretentious smile.

"I wanna go say hi!" Zenko chirped.

"Do ya have to?" Badd asked, already getting a migraine.

Zenko glowered at him.

"Fine, ya go say hi by yerself," Badd said, giving her a nervous smile. "Big bro doesn't really wanna talk to him."

Zenko went red, clinging onto his arm. "No, big bro! I'm shy..."

Badd groaned internally. "Alright, I'll come with ya."

Meanwhile, Fubuki was putting together a plan to recruit more members into the Blizzard Group. A Class and S heroes were everywhere! This was perfect! Unfortunately, her plan was being… sidetracked… by her older sister, Tatsumaki.

"Don't leave my side, Fubuki," Tatsumaki warned, glowering down at her as she floated in the air.

"For crying out loud, Tatsumaki," Fubuki sighed. "It's a Christmas party, not a warzone."

"I don't want you to get influenced by those trashy male heroes," Tatsumaki retorted. "They're not worth our time."

Fubuki mumbled a curse and folded one of her arms, using the other to pick up a mince tart. If she wanted to successfully recruit even _one _hero, she'd need to distract her sister, somehow. But how was she to do that? Tatsumaki was watching her like a hawk.

"So, this is the Christmas party? There's a lot of people here."

"Indeed," Genos agreed, following Saitama as he helped himself to some Christmas themed snacks. "All heroes from Class A and above were invited, and they were given the option to bring a guest."

"Food's good," Saitama said, through a mouthful of Christmas pudding.

"Ah, Saitama!" Bang said, walking over to Master and Disciple. "Good to see you here!"

"Oh hey, old man," Saitama greeted. "'Sup?"

"Don't refer to Master Bang as 'old man', you idiot!" Bang's former top disciple, Charanko, yelled, shaking a fist.

"Huh?" Saitama asked, staring at the young man. "Who are you?"

"You know me!" Charanko yelled. "We've met _three _times! You impersonated me in the Super Fight Tournament!"

"Oh yeah," Saitama snapped his fingers in recognition. "You're that guy Bang kicked out of his dojo, right?"

Charanko stuffed his face with a mince tart in order not to lose his mind. This party was already terrible.

Sweet Mask, on the other hand, was having a fantastic time. This party? _Such_ a good idea! The Hero Association was really involving the community. It was a step in the right direction! So much positivity.

"Hey, pretty boy."

Sweet Mask breathed in sharply, recognising that arrogant voice. He turned to face the Class S hero Metal Bat, who was wearing a scowl.

"Metal Bat," he greeted, calmly. "How can I help you?"

"My lil' sis wanted to say hi to ya," the younger hero grunted. Behind him was the small figure of Zenko, her face completely red.

"Ah yes, Zenko," Sweet Mask, with a smile as sweet as his name. "I remember you."

"(BIG BRO)," Zenko whispered loudly to her brother. "(HE REMEMBERS ME!)"

"Are you having a nice Christmas?" Sweet Mask asked, politely.

Zenko nodded shyly, still clinging onto her brother's pants.

"Glad to hear it," Sweet Mask said, smiling. He checked his watch. "You keep an eye on your brother, won't you?"

He walked away to speak to more executives. Zenko was still completely red.

"Well, there ya go, sis," Badd said, digging his hands in his pockets in relief. He was glad he didn't have to put up with that idiot anymore. "What do ya wanna do now?"

"I…" Zenko trailed off.

"Sis?" Badd asked, kneeling down. "What's wrong?"

"Is that… Lily?" Zenko asked, pointing to a girl in a reindeer costume.

Fubuki smirked. She knew exactly how to distract her sister!

Carefully, ever so carefully, she made her way over to Saitama, who was standing by the punch bowl and talking to… King…? Seriously, Fubuki couldn't believe that man had managed to befriend three Class S heroes like it was nothing. One of them was even his disciple!

Fubuki drew in a breath, composing herself.

"Saitama," she greeted, walking over to him.

"Oh, hey," Saitama said, casually. "You're here too?"

(Ah, yes. Fubuki sometimes forgot how… disrespectful… Saitama could be.)

"Fubuki!" Tatsumaki yelled, flying over. "What did I say about…" she stopped when she saw Saitama. "Hey you, baldy! What are you doing here? Don't you know this party is for A Class heroes and above?"

"Master Saitama is here with me as a guest," Genos explained.

"And besides, isn't your sister in Class B?" Saitama asked, gesturing to Fubuki. "She's here too."

Tatsumaki went red. "Well… I…!"

Fubuki smirked to herself. She had got her sister in, hook, line and sinker; Tatsumaki couldn't resist a good argument. Now to start recruiting in peace.

"Lily?" Badd asked, staring at the girl.

The girl turned around, jumping in fright, before proceeding to fall over. Unfortunately, she did not land on Badd's chest, as not only is that a cliche anime trope, it was also physically impossible considering he was standing a few meters away.

"You okay?" Badd asked, staring down at her.

"Um…" Lily forced herself back on two feet. "Hi, Metal Bat…"

She was dressed as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, but one of antlers was tilted at an awkward angle. Her costume consisted of some kind of reindeer onesie, with hooves as hands and feet, and a red nose on her face.

Badd gave her a weird look. "What are ya up to?"

"Um…" Lily tried to fix the broken antler. "So, I got a new job… and it was from the Hero Association themselves! I thought I was going to get promoted, or something really cool, but… as you can see, that's not the case…"

"What exactly are ya doin'?" Badd asked, still confused.

Lily blushed, hiding her face. "Christmas fanservice…"

"Is Poppy here?" Zenko asked, looking around.

"Surprise!" Poppy said, appearing behind her sister. She was wearing a reindeer costume as well.

"Poppy!" Zenko greeted, hugging her. "Merry Christmas!" She grinned. "I met Sweet Mask!"

"Lucky, Sweet Mask didn't want to talk to me," Poppy said, frowning.

Zenko whimpered. "Aw, Poppy, that's..."

"Don't worry about it," Poppy waved it off. "Just celebrate the Christmas spirit!"

Lily looked over at a man yelling, seeing a group of people also dressed as reindeer.

"Well, we've got to go," she said. "Enjoy the party!"

She walked off, still trying to fix the antler. Poppy chased after her.

"Well… that was… weird," Zenko commented.

"Yeah," another voice agreed. "Who even wants to see Christmas fanservice?"

"Oh, it's you," Badd grumbled, staring down at Child Emperor.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Metal Bat," Child Emperor deadpanned.

Flashy Flash was starting to get annoyed. Some Class B woman standing nearby him kept staring at him in an odd way. He believed she was Tatsumaki's younger sister, despite the fact that she looked much more mature. Whether or not she _acted _more mature, though, Flashy Flash was yet to judge.

"Hello," Fubuki greeted. "Flashy Flash, Class S rank 13. That's very impressive."

"Mmm," Flashy Flash replied half-hardheartedly.

"I am Blizzard of Hell, Class B rank 1," she replied. "I am the leader of a large faction known as the Blizzard Group."

"So I've heard," Flashy Flash said, more interested in the cup of fruit punch in his hand.

"My group is dedicated to helping heroes grow stronger," Fubuki explained. "Together, we'll become the most powerful group in the Association." She grinned. "Dare I say, world dominating! And we're always open to new members, regardless of Class."

"Are you trying to recruit me?" Flashy Flash asked, closing his eyes. "I have no interest in mere factions. I only work alone."

"Of course, I was only _suggesting _it," Fubuki said. "We are very accepting, of course."

Flashy Flash wasn't buying it of course, but it seemed the woman had turned her attention to a group of Class A heroes. He sighed. It seemed, in some ways, she _was_ just as bad as her sister.

"You're stupid!" Tatsumaki yelled, glaring at Saitama. "Baldy! Bald egg! Overgrown toad! Baka!"

"Does she ever stop yelling?" Saitama grumbled, staring at Genos.

"Shall I tell her off?" Genos asked.

"Nah," Saitama waved his hand. "Last time you did that, you got turned into a piece of modern art."

"Stop ignoring me!" Tatsumaki shrieked. God, that bald man made her so mad! She felt like flipping the table over!

Then she realised something ghastly… her sister had walked off without her permission!

"You…!" Her face went red. "FUBUKI!"

"I have a bad feeling about this party," Child Emperor admitted. "Tornado will lose her temper or something else will happen."

"The speeches will be too boring?" Zenko suggested.

"That's likely," Child Emperor agreed.

Badd tch-ed. He'd definitely be the one causing trouble if the speeches were too boring.

Speaking of the speeches, he heard a bell going off.

"Hello, everyone!" an old man greeted, standing on the stage. "A moment of your time, please!"

"Here we go…" Child Emperor sighed.

Everyone turned their attention to the stage.

"In case you didn't know, my name is Sitch, and I'm an executive of the Hero Association," the man explained. "First of all, I want to thank you all for attending this party. This is the Hero Association's first ever official Christmas party, and it's already a huge success thanks to your participation. Secondly, I want to thank all of the heroes for your amazing work protecting the citizens this year. It's thanks to you the Hero Association is so successful, and we receive so much support. And of course, a big thank you to all the executives who put in hours of their time to help protect all of us. You have all done an incredible job, and I applaud you."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Badd, meanwhile, was already starting to get bored. He could hear two people arguing somewhere in the background, which was actually more interesting than the speech itself.

"Today, we gather to celebrate not only Christmas, but all of you," Sitch continued. "This party is dedicated to you for all of your hard work, and to celebrate our achievements. It's only been three years since the Association was founded, but you've made them the most memorable and wonderful three years there could ever possibly be. These three years have touched so many hearts. Some of my fellow executives would like to say a few words and share their stories about how they've been impacted. So… everyone give it up for… Sekingar!"

The executive known as Sekingar walked up to the stage, as the audience clapped.

"Hello, and Merry Christmas, everyone," he greeted. "As Sitch just said, my name is Sekingar, and I have been working for the Hero Association for a year now. During that time, I have met many amazing people, and learned a lot about myself and others. This year, I tried to…"

Badd tuned out, looking around the room. Behind him, he saw a furious Tornado angrily gesturing at that bald hero Saitama. Meanwhile, Fubuki was having some kind of deep conversation with the Class A hero Lightning Max.

"Big bro," Zenko whispered, tugging his hand. "Listen!"

"Yer actually listenin' to that crap?" Badd asked.

Zenko glowered at him.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," he sighed. "I'll listen."

Child Emperor, on the other hand, kept giving cautious glances to Tatsumaki.

"Yeah, something's definitely going to go wrong…" he muttered. He wondered if he should leave before all Hell broke loose.

Badd was not the only one tuning out from the speeches. Saitama wasn't listening either, though he would've preferred it over the annoying lost child angrily accusing him of 'distracting her'.

"Fubuki got away thanks to you!" Tatsumaki hissed.

"'Got away'?" Saitama asked. "What is she, your pet cat or something?"

Tatsumaki went red. "YOU STUPID BALDY!"

She used her psychic powers to flip the table over. Food went flying everywhere, like a tsunami. Unfortunately, it landed on the audience.

There was a tense silence.

…

"FOOD FIGHT!" someone yelled, throwing food at another person.

And then all Hell broke loose, food flying everywhere.

"Now this I can get behind!" Badd said, grinning. He used his bat to bat away a cake, before picking up a pie and sending it flying towards Flashy Flash.

"Incompetent," Flashy Flash said, slicing the pie with his sword. "And very embarrassing."

"Shut up, Bobby Pin!" Badd yelled, preparing to send off another pie.

"Everyone, please, calm down!" Sitch yelled into the mic. "Stop this at once!"

"What's going on?" Lightning Max asked, staring at Fubuki.

Fubuki used her powers to lift up a table and defend herself and her new friend from a barrage of mince tarts. "Chaos. We should leave."

"Leave?" Stinger, another A Class hero, responded, using his bamboo shoot to send some cream tarts flying. "No way! This just became awesome!"

Fubuki couldn't agree less. She began to wonder if this was all her fault. If she hadn't left Tatsumaki alone... no, she couldn't blame herself. It was her sister's fault, as always.

"Master!" Genos yelled, as Tatsumaki threw a Christmas pudding at Saitama.

"Huh?" Saitama asked. He caught the pudding in mid-air. "Oh, cool. Thanks."

"DAMN YOU!" Tatsumaki screamed. She picked up whatever she could find, including people, and started throwing them at Saitama. King whimpered from his hiding place under the table.

_I wanna go home..._ he thought.

"AHH! HEY!" Charanko shouted, surrounded by psychic energy. "PUT ME DOWN!"

Tatsumaki ignored him, chucking him at Saitama. Saitama moved out of the way, causing Charanko to land in the middle of a chocolate fountain.

"Stop throwing things at my master, you impudent brat!" Genos yelled, pulling out his incineration cannon.

"Whoa, Genos," Saitama waved his hand. "Don't use that. You'll blow the whole place up."

Genos tch-ed, and instead, picked up an entire roast chicken. He threw it at Tatsumaki, which unfortunately, only made her madder.

"Don't get involved, you overgrown bucket of bolts!" she yelled, picking Genos up with her powers and throwing him aside.

Genos crash-landed into the people dressed as reindeer, most of which were hiding behind tables and using them as shields. They all screamed and ran away. Except for Lily and her sister, who gave Genos a concerned look.

"Mr. Demon Cyborg!" Lily said, kneeling down next to him. "Are you okay?"

"That brat Tornado…" he grumbled. "This is all her fault."

"I love her now," Poppy declared. "This food fight is awesome!"

"No, Poppy," Lily shook her head. "No it's not."

"BASTARD!" Badd yelled, throwing a roast turkey at Flashy Flash.

"I'm not going to get involved in this nonsense," Flashy Flash sighed, avoiding the turkey. "I'm going home."

"YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME!" Badd raged. Then his expression softened when he heard his sister crying.

He kneeled down beside her. "Zen… what's wrong?"

"Someone spilled punch over my dress…" she sobbed. It was true, the fruity punch was covering her fancy Christmas-themed dress.

"I'll kill 'em," her brother promised, making a fist. "No one's gonna make you cry and get away with it, understand? Who did this?"

Zenko pointed to Tatsumaki.

"I knew this would happen," Child Emperor said, staring at Sitch. "You can't keep Tatsumaki in a room full of food and people and expect her to behave!"

Sitch cursed. He returned to the microphone.

"Everyone!" he yelled, as authoritatively as he could. "Stop!"

Of course, no one listened, and the fighting got worse.

"Are you serious?" Sitch asked, putting his face in his palm. "What are we supposed to do?"

He tried to ignore the dark presence behind him. Oh no. It… was _him_. And he was mad.

"STUPID. OVERGROWN. BALDY!" Tatsumaki screeched, throwing an entire table at Saitama.

"Can you just give it up?" Saitama asked, smashing the table in half with his fist. "You're making a huge mess. Oh, by the way, Metal Knight's behind you."

"What?" Tatsumaki asked, spinning around. She raised her hand, catching Badd in mid-air, about to swing his bat onto her head.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU LITTLE PUNK!" he yelled. "YER GONNA PAY FOR GETTING PUNCH ON MY SISTER'S DRESS!"

Tatsumaki rolled her eyes, sending him into the chocolate fountain with Charanko. She turned back to Saitama, but he was gone.

Her anger increased to the next level. The entire building felt the wrath of her power, causing the floor tiles to crack.

"BALDYYYYYY!" Tatsumaki screamed.

"ENOUGH!" a voice boomed.

The voice belonged to Sweet Mask. His voice was so terrifying everyone stopped, and turned their attention towards him. His face was covered in veins, and his eyes had turned red.

"Is this how you think distinguished heroes should be behaving?!" he demanded. "You're all acting like little children!"

"Hey," Child Emperor grumbled.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Sweet Mask ranted. "This behaviour is absolutely unacceptable! Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace and love, and look what you're doing! If you all think this how a hero should act, then you should all retire at once!"

Tatsumaki glared at him. "Hey, who said you could-"

"I don't want to hear it from you, Tornado!" Sweet Mask shouted. "This party is dispersed! All of you, leave at once, and think about what you've-"

A pie suddenly landed on his face. The entire room was dead silent.

"Who. Threw. This?" Sweet Mask asked calmly, but his eyes were blood-red.

"It… was me!" Zenko said, standing up.

Everyone gasped.

"Zenko!" Badd shouted, shoving Charanko off him.

Sweet Mask nearly choked. "You… why you…"

"Aren't parties all about having fun?" Zenko asked. "I think… I think we should be allowed to have food fights and mess around. Because that's what parties are. They're about… having fun!"

Everyone murmured in agreement.

Sweet Mask frowned. "Well… I… that's true, but…"

"And since all the heroes work so hard, they deserve some time off!" Zenko added. "Besides, it's Christmas! Now, more than ever, is about spending time with friends and family and having fun!"

A chorus of 'yeahs' and 'that's true' came from the crowd. There was a lot of cheering as well.

Sweet Mask sighed. He wasn't going to yell at one of his fans. "Oh… very well, child. You make a good point. If you all want to have fun… then… just this once… go ahead."

There was another silence.

"THE FOOD FIGHT CONTINUES!" someone shouted. And sure enough, food began flying everywhere once again.

Badd pulled his sister into his arms, tears in his eyes.

"That was the best speech I've ever heard," he told her.

"That was the only speech you've ever actually listened to, big bro," Zenko retorted.

Badd smiled, still crying and hugging her. "I'm so proud of you…"

Zenko sighed, hugging him back. "Merry Christmas, big bro."

"Yeah," Badd grinned. "Merry Christ- AUGHHH!"

Flashy Flash had thrown a huge pie at his face. Badd spat out some cranberries, glaring at him.

"DAMN YOU, BOBBY PIN!" he yelled. "WE WERE HAVIN' A MOMENT!"

Flashy Flash gave him the tiniest of smirks before dashing off.

"GET BACK HERE!" Badd yelled, chasing after him.

* * *

**A/N: Well, this happened. XD I actually wrote another Christmas chapter, but it turned out badd (ha ha geddit), so I decided to write this instead. Writing for this fanfic can be very difficult sometimes, IDK why. The reviewer An Preson Peepul gave me the idea for the party, and then I thought… what if the Hero Association had a Christmas party? And so, here we are. Hope you enjoyed it! That aside, I hope you have a good Christmas, or if you don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays! And of course, thank you so much for reading! Just like Sitch said in his speech about the Hero Association not being possible without support, this story wouldn't be possible without _your_ support. So once again, thank you. :D**


	23. Emotional night

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! It's the start of a new decade! To start you off, here's some more fluff. I hope it's not cringe or anything. Idk why, but I find it really hard to extend out fluff chapters? I usually can't get them past 1000 words... short and sweet, I guess. XD **

* * *

It was one of _those_ nights.

Zenko could tell by all the yelling down the hall. It seemed her brother was arguing with her grandparents about something. She adjusted her doona. She didn't know what they were arguing about, but her brother didn't seem too happy about it.

He had been in a rather… _bad_ mood all day. Of course, he didn't show it around her, but she could tell - she was his sister, after all. He had that angered look on his face when he looked out into the distance, away. But when he turned to her, he was smiling. But now that she was in bed... he was finally letting it out.

After more muffled yelling, her brother stomped down the hall and entered his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Zenko waited a few moments, before climbing out of bed. She crept out of her room, headed to her brother's. She slowly opened the door, seeing her brother lying face-down on his bed.

"Big bro," she climbed onto his bed. "What's wrong?"

"Nuffin'," he replied, voice muffled by a pillow. "Go back to bed."

"I'm not gonna go back to bed when you're upset and fighting with our grandparents!" she argued. She tugged at his shirt. "Tell me what's wrong!"

He rolled over. "Just go back to bed, Zenko."

"I wanna help," Zenko said, still holding his shirt. "You always make me feel better when I'm upset! I wanna do the same for you!"

Badd sighed. "I can't explain it. Ya won't understand."

"Try me!" Zenko replied.

Badd went silent.

"Brooooo," Zenko insisted, trying to roll him over to face her.

"It has to do with Mom and Dad," he finally grunted. "And some other crap. That's all I'm sayin'."

"Bro!" Zenko scowled.

"Ya don't need to worry 'bout it," he told her, staring at her from over his shoulder. "Yer too young."

Zenko crossed her arms. "You always say that! I'm not a baby anymore, Badd!"

Her brother mumbled something into the pillow.

"I don't want 'cha to grow up too fast," he said, solemnly.

"Tell me," she insisted. "I can handle it. I promise."

Badd sighed, rolling back to face her. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were slightly red. He'd definitely been crying.

"It's a long story," he said. "But basically, Gramps and Grandma were all freaked out after hearing 'bout that night, way back then. They think I'm dangerous or somethin', so they don't really, eh, trust me. Don't like goin' out, either, which is kinda why they don't go to yer recitals. They think I'm a 'bad influence' on you, something dumb like that. That's what we were arguin' 'bout, they think we spend too much time together or some bull crap. They think yer gonna be 'just like me'."

He had a vexed look in his eyes, and he'd curled up the doona in his fists.

There was a silence.

Zenko blinked, heavily. "They're not gonna… split us up, are they, big bro?"

"No way," Badd told her, scowling. "I'd never let 'em."

"Me neither," Zenko said, clinging onto his arm. "They're so... dumb! Why are they upset about something that happened ages ago? And it's not your fault!"

"I dunno," her brother growled. "Ask 'em!"

Zenko stood up.

"I was jokin'!" Badd told her. "It's stupid, but I can't change their minds. But I'm not gonna let anythin' happen to us, okay? So don't worry 'bout it."

"No," Zenko said. "I'm not gonna make _you_ worry! I'm gonna talk to Grandpa and Grandma!"

"Don't, sis," her brother advised. "You'll get in trouble."

"No I won't," Zenko argued. She smiled. "I'm a little angel, remember?"

Badd sighed, pulling a hand through his hair. "Yeah. 'Course. Maybe they will listen to ya."

Zenko nodded, proudly. She began walking out of the room.

"Not now, Zenko," Badd grunted. "It's the middle of the night."

"But I don't wanna wait until tomorrow," Zenko whined.

"Ya don't have a choice," her brother replied. He held out his arms. "C'mere. Let's just go to bed."

"Fine," Zenko pouted. She climbed into the bed. She suddenly gave her brother a tight hug.

"Don't be sad, big bro," she told him. "It's gonna be okay."

He smiled. "I know, sis. I know."


	24. Theme park

Going to a notoriously busy theme park during a school holiday was the last thing Badd wanted to do, but there he was.

There were people everywhere he looked. Every single ride seemed to have a ginormous queue. God, how he hated queues. Still, he'd promised his sister he'd take her there, and there was no going back.

"Let's go on that one!" Zenko said. It was one of those rides that involved sitting in a chair and being spun around. Naturally, the queue was huge.

"Queue's pretty long," Badd grunted.

Zenko frowned. "I don't care! Let's go on it!"

Badd sighed, following his cheerful sister over to the queue. He folded his arms, while his sister bounced around brightly. How she could be so excited for a ride with a queue this long, he didn't know. At least it would make the wait more bearable.

"Hey!" an irate voice shouted. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Badd looked up, glaring at the owner of the voice: Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror. She was hovering above the queue, arms crossed.

"'Cause I'm allowed to be here, punk," Badd answered.

"You copy-cat!" Tatsumaki yelled. "You stole my idea! I was gonna come here with _my_ sister!"

"Bullshit!" Badd argued. "I ain't copyin' ya! We just happened to come on the same day!"

"Liar!" Tatsumaki growled. "You lower Class S heroes are always trying to copy us higher-ranks!"

"The Hell did ya say?" Badd asked, pulling out his bat. "You wanna go, punk?"

"As if I'd be scared of your stupid metal stick!" Tatsumaki shouted. "I'm going to-"

"Oh, look, sister," Fubuki appeared just at the right moment, her voice hasty, "that stall over there is selling candy apples!"

"Where?" Tatsumaki asked, completely forgetting about Badd.

"Right over there!" Fubuki answered, pointing to a stall moderately far away. That was no problem for the 2nd ranked S Class Hero, who flew over there at super-speed, disturbing various people. Fubuki sighed heavily.

"Sister, wait up!" she cried, following her older sister's trail of perturbed people.

"Miss Blizzard!" Lily shouted, holding out a hand. Poppy was behind her, an annoyed look on her face. It disappeared when she saw Zenko.

"Zenko!" she shouted, waving to her friend.

"Poppy!" Zenko replied, waving back. "Big bro and I are going on a ride! Do you wanna come on as well?"

"Lily!" Poppy grabbed her frantic sister's staff. "Can I go on a ride with Zenko and her brother?"

"Sure thing," Lily replied, only half-paying attention. "I'm going after Miss Blizzard. Call me later, okay?"

"Okay!" Poppy said, brightly. The sisters split ways. Poppy went over to Zenko and her brother, while Lily chased after her boss. While chasing her, Lily spotted a fun-looking carnival game. She slowed down to stare at it. It had some great-looking prizes.

_Well…_ Lily thought. _Miss Blizzard won't mind if I play a quick game, right? She'll be busy keeping an eye on her sister…_

* * *

Child Emperor was wondering why on the planet he'd agreed to come to this stupid theme park. Supposedly, there'd been a monster sighting, but everywhere he looked he hadn't found any kind of evidence to prove that claim. So now he was just mulling around uselessly, debating whether to do one last check up or leave.

That was when he saw a familiar face, mulling by the hotdog stand.

"What the…" The child prodigy made his way over to the stand. "Deputy? From IRIS?"

Deputy screamed, almost falling over. The lanky teen was wearing a faded pink t-shirt and oversized jeans, as well as sparkly sneakers that were about 20 years out of fashion.

"Why are you here?" Child Emperor asked, suspiciously. "You're supposed to be in jail!"

"P… Please don't kill me…" Deputy said, taking a step backwards. He almost crashed into the hotdog stand.

Child Emperor sighed, pulling out his phone. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to take you back to jail."

"W-Wait, please don't!" Deputy pleaded. "I... I'm a good guy now! Which means, I don't have to go back to jail!"

Child Emperor stared at him, blankly. "Yeah... that's what all criminals say."

"I'm not a criminal!" Deputy insisted. "Just give me a chance! I can be... an asset to the Hero Association!"

Child Emperor cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah!" Deputy jumped up. "I... I'll show you!"

* * *

Genos was proudly following his master. They had just won a carnival game, and Saitama was wielding a plush duck. What he was going to do with it, God knows, but he was very proud of himself for winning a carnival game that only cost 200 yen to play.

"Master, look," Genos pointed at another carnival game. "You most likely will be very good at that game."

It was a stereotypical 'test your strength' game. If you were strong enough, according to the game, you would receive a prize.

"Looks like fun," Saitama agreed. He and Genos walked over to the game.

"Don't even bother, fellas," said a random guy standing in front of the game. "Ya don't have a chance."

"I doubt that," Genos replied. "My master is very powerful."

The guy laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. "Oh, buddy. Love your confidence but it ain't gonna win the game."

Genos nodded at Saitama.

"Sure," Saitama shrugged. "Let's do this thing."

* * *

Back to Badd and the girls, after a stupid long wait they _finally_ got to go on the ride. Badd put his bat down in a bush before heading onto the ride alongside his sister and her friend. He sat down beside his sister and a smelly guy. Geez, that guy _really_ needed to use deodorant…

"This is gonna be awesome!" Zenko exclaimed.

"I know!" Poppy agreed.

Badd hoped the ride would be over soon. He was going to flip if he had to sit next to the guy for much longer.

The ride started up, and began spinning around and around. Zenko and Poppy cheered with glee, while Badd began feeling seasick.

"THIS IS THE BEST RIDE EVER!" the girls screamed.

_Kill me..._ Badd thought.

It went on for a while, before finally coming to a close after an agonising few minutes. Badd couldn't be more relieved. His stomach was churning and that smelly guy wasn't making it any better.

"That was so fun!" Zenko squealed. "Let's do it again!"

"Again!" Poppy agreed.

"Again!" They both chanted. "Again!"

Badd groaned. He wanted to die.

The trio got off the ride, the girls still full of beans. Badd sighed. _Thank God that's over. Hope the next one ain't that bad. Well... at least it can't get worse... _

Still breathing deeply, Badd went over to the bush. And right there, his previous thought was proven wrong.

"Where the fuck is my bat?!"

"What do you mean I'm not tall enough?!"

The employee backed away nervously as Tatsumaki stared him down from her spot in the air, hands on hips. He bumped into the fence surrounding the roller coaster.

"I'm s-sorry, ma'am," he apologised, teeth chattering. "B-But you have to be above a certain height limit to go on this ride."

"Don't you know who I am?!" Tatsumkai demanded. "I'm not some little kid! I'm a Class S hero! I should be allowed on any ride I want!"

"I'm only stating t-the park regulations," the employee stammered. "It's… it's for your safety…"

Tatsumaki looked like she was about to let him have it, but once again, her sister stepped in.

"It says on the regulations that someone who is not above the height limit can go on the ride with someone who is," Fubuki said. "Is that correct?"

"Y-Yes it is," the employee answered.

"Very well," Fubuki turned to her big sister. "I'll go on this ride with you."

"Good!" Tatsumaki huffed. "Let's get on it right now!"

"B-but m-miss…" the employee raised a meek hand. "You have to wait in the queue…"

Tatsumaki glared at him.

"Never mind, just get on…" he said, voice breaking. As Fubuki prepared to get onto the roller coaster with her sister, she wondered where Lily had run off to.

"Home run!"

Lily raised her arms in victory as she completed her final home run. She lowered the metal bat she was holding. Wow! The game had taken longer than she thought it would. Still, it was plenty of fun. Now just to return the metal bat to its rightful owner.

"Who the Hell stole my bat?!"

"Bro, calm down!"

Lily immediately lost all confidence as a furious Metal Bat walked around and harassed various people about his missing bat. She didn't mean to _steal_ it, of course, she just wanted to borrow it to play the game! They were all out of baseball bats, so she had to use her 'own'. As soon as the game was finished she'd give it back. But now that Badd looked so mad, she suddenly didn't feel like it anymore.

Talking to him while he was 'calm' was hard enough. She definitely did not want to approach him while he was angry. He nearly destroyed her after he learned about that time she took Zenko for a motorbike ride. So instead, Lily decided to forget about it and just hand the bat into the lost and found employees. Eventually, Metal Bat would ask them for assistance, and they'd give it back to him. Flawless!

What was not so flawless was Deputy's constant shaking.

"You need to calm down, or I can't take you seriously," Child Emperor told him. "And then you'll go to jail."

Deputy's eyes welled up. "Okay okay! L-Look, I came here because I think that's what normal people do… I guess… I never wanted to hurt anyone, I swear!"

"Well, you got that right," the Class S hero muttered. "Wait… 'normal'. What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know," Deputy admitted. "I've always been kind of a shut-in. I… I haven't even been to school since I was really young…" He sighed. "Before he was incarcerated, Ohcysp told me I should do something with my life… I didn't know what though, since I don't have a life without him… and then I got incarcerated myself..."

"Sad, and I'm sorry for you, but you're still a criminal," Child Emperor told him. "I want you to show me proof that you can be an asset to the Hero Association."

Deputy whimpered. "Well, I can help you track other criminals... especially cyber criminals."

"That's true," Child Emperor agreed. He stared at Deputy. He seemed to be so nervous and frail he couldn't imagine him ever hurting anyone. Not to mention, he was only blinding following Ohcysp...

"You were only listening to your boss, weren't you?" Child Emperor grumbled. "Damn adults. I think that guy was manipulating you."

"What?" Deputy stammered.

Child Emperor grimaced. "You know what? Maybe... maybe I'll give you a chance."

* * *

"What the Hell?! I can't believe it!"

Genos couldn't help but feel smug as his sensei put down the hammer. He'd literally destroyed the carnival game with one swing.

"Well, that was easy," Saitama said. He turned to the bewildered employee, who was midway between having a heart attack and passing out.

"Where's my prize?" Saitama asked.

The employee screamed and ran away.

"What's his problem?" Saitama asked.

Genos frowned. "Should I go after him?"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Saitama said. "Let's go get some candy floss or something."

Back to Badd and the girls, again. The S Class Hero had interrogated a ridiculous amount of people, and unfortunately they'd seen nothing.

"We'll find it," Zenko told her angry brother. "It's gotta be somewhere!"

Lily walked up to the trio, sweating profusely for an unknown reason.

"Hello," she said, cheerful. Maybe a little _too_ cheerful. "What's wrong?"

"My bat's gone missin'," Badd answered, scowling. "You seen it anywhere?"

Lily looked away, cheeks flushed. "Uh, nope!"

Poppy frowned, suspiciously. "Hmm…"

"Have you gone to the lost and found booth?" Lily asked. "It's at the centre of the theme park."

"Wait, that's a thing?" Badd asked. "What the Hell?! Never heard of it!"

Zenko face-palmed. "Not as if it's on the big sign over there…"

"C'mon," Badd said. "We gotta go there right now!"

A few minutes later, the group was at the lost and found booth. Luckily, there wasn't a queue for once. Badd walked up to the employee, who gave him a friendly smile.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"Lookin' for a metal bat," Badd answered. "You got one here?"

"Hold on," the employee said. She walked away for a few moments, before returning, holding up Badd's bat.

"Is this it?" she asked.

"Yep," he agreed. "Thanks."

He took the bat back, a grin resurfacing on his face. Meanwhile, Poppy had a curious frown on her face.

"Excuse me," she faced the employee, "but where did you get the bat from?"

"Someone handed it in," the employee answered. "In fact, it was that girl over there! The one with the flower in her hair."

Lily almost choked on her own saliva as three pairs of eyes turned on her.

"Oh wow," she spluttered. "L-Look at the time! I need to, uh, go now! Bye!"

She raced off at top speed.

"What the Hell…" Badd muttered.

"I knew she was acting suspicious," Poppy shook her head.

* * *

"Do you even know how to drive?"

Deputy shyly stared down at the dodgem car.

"N-No," he admitted. "I've never driven anything, ever."

Child Emperor sighed, still in disbelief over the situation. "Then I'm driving. Get in."

Deputy sat next to the young hero, bringing his knees to his chest.

"You're not supposed to sit like that," the kid told him. "Put your knees down."

Deputy slowly put his knees down. His breathing seemed to waver again.

"Have you ever even been in a car?" Child Emperor asked.

"Y-Yeah," Deputy answered. "Last time was… um, 5 years ago?"

"Man, you really are a shut-in, aren't you?" the kid asked.

Deputy blushed. "Sorry…"

Child Emperor sighed, again. He'd lost track of how many times he'd sighed. Still, someone needed to re-introduce Deputy to society, and he was the only willing volunteer to do so.

"Once this ride is finished, I really need to teach you about the world," he said. "How about we start with dodgem cars?"

"Uh… sure…" Deputy said.

Child Emperor stood up. "Then get up. You're the driver now."

* * *

Fubuki was completely finished with roller coasters. And candy apples, for that matter. She was pretty sure her sister had bought the entire stall's worth. Plus, she had no idea where Lily had run off to.

"Tatsumaki," she approached her sister, who was chowing down on a candy apple, "do you know where Lily went?"

"How should I know where your little groupies hang out?" Tatsumkai grumbled.

Fubuki sighed. "Excuse me for a moment." She walked to the side, and pulled out her phone. She dialed Lily.

"Hello?" Lily picked up.

"Lily," Fubuki questioned, "where are you?"

"Um…" Lily's voiced lowered a few decibels. "In the toilet, Miss Blizzard."

"Oh," Fubuki coughed. "Well, I-"

"I'm not peeing or anything!" Lily stammered. "I'm just… um. Nevermind. Can we go home?"

"I wish we could," Fubuki massaged her forehead, "but my sister wants to stay a bit longer. Plus, what about Poppy?"

"Poppy's with Metal Bat and Zenko," Lily answered.

"Right," Fubuki said. "I recommend that you form a romantic relationship with Metal Bat, by the way. The Blizzard Group could use a Class S hero."

Lily sounded like she was choking. "M-M-Miss Blizzard! I-It's not like that!"

Fubuki smiled. "I'm sure, Lily. Please don't run off on me again. I can't keep an eye on you that way."

"Sorry, Miss Blizzard," Lily whimpered.

"Yes, yes, I know, dear," Fubuki said. "My sister and I are in the food court. Please come by as soon as you can."

"Okay," Lily replied. "Bye bye!"

She hung up after that. She collapsed onto the toilet seat, sighing. She'd been in there for at least 20 minutes, and she showed no signs of leaving anytime soon. She felt like a coward once again. She just couldn't handle being near… _him_ again. Sure, she could handle being around demon-threat monsters, but not him. The thought made her feel stupid. What kind of hero was she?

Someone knocked on the door, making her jump. "Excuse me? We've had reports that this stall has been locked for over twenty minutes. Is everything okay in there?"

"U-Uh, Yeah!" Lily replied. "So sorry! I'll come out now!"

She opened the door, revealing a security guard and some impatient theme-park-goers. Lily gave them all a sheepish smile before moving on, staff in hand.

She sighed. She couldn't keep procrastinating. She had to be the big sister Poppy always wanted her to be.

She pulled out her phone and dialed her younger sister, ignoring all the missed calls from said sister.

"Lily!" Poppy yelled. "Where have you been?"

"Um, nowhere," Lily lied. "Where are you?"

"Food court," Poppy answered. "Get over here!"

"Right, right," Lily said. "C-Coming. See you there…"

Lily found it convenient that her sister and her boss happened to be in the same place. Or inconvenient… oh well. At least it wasn't too far away.

* * *

"This was a mistake."

Child Emperor sighed at the flipped over dodgem car. Smoke trailed into the air, various people filming the event on their phones. Deputy was bright red, trying and failing to hide his burning face.

"You really are out of the loop," the kid told Deputy. "Next time, we're meeting at a school."

"School…" Deputy whimpered.

"It'll be fine," Child Emperor shrugged. "They have computers there."

Deputy's face lit up. "Oh, okay!"

"Hey!" Some security guards ran over to the two. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Put it on the Hero Association's tab," Child Emperor told them. He turned to Deputy. "Come on. Let's go."

The skinny teen anxiously followed him, lip trembling. He seemed to relax when they got further away from the crowds.

"Hey, um…" Deputy cleared his throat. "Thanks."

"For what?" Child Emperor asked.

"For being nice to me," Deputy answered. "The only person that was ever nice to me was Ohcysp. My own parents threw me out when I was a kid, and Ohcysp took me in. He… he gave me a life. But… I didn't realise he was a criminal. I never wanted to be a criminal, I just wanted to be…"

Child Emperor dug his hands into his pockets. "I get it. Adults are the worst. But you… maybe you're not so bad. You're just kind of a shut-in."

Deputy blushed. "Y-Yeah, I guess so…"

The teen tried to smile. The hero sighed, deeply.

"You'll be fine," he said. "You just need to learn." He gave Deputy a smile of his own. "How about we go and get some ice-cream at the food court?"

* * *

"Why are _you_ still here?!"

"I'm allowed to be here, punk!"

Badd and Tatsumaki were fighting once again. Zenko sighed, forcibly dragging her brother away before Tatsumaki threw him into the popcorn stand. Poppy kept an eye out for her sister, who was either fashionably late or having another panic attack.

"Hey, look!" Zenko chirped. "It's Saitama!"

Saitama and Genos were standing beside the fairy floss stand, eating some of the said candy. Saitama had got floss up his nose, and Genos was helping him remove it.

"Not again," Badd grunted.

"And Child Emperor is over there," Poppy commented, spotting the hero in question.

"Wait…" Zenko frowned. "I recognise that guy next to him! He's one of the guys from IRIS!"

"IRIS?" Badd asked, turning around. "You mean that criminal group? The Hell are they doin' here?!"

"Oh look, it's my sister," Poppy commented, in a monotone. "Convenient how all these people are showing up at once."

A flushed Lily was sneaking her way over to Fubuki, who was offering her sister another candy apple.

"HI LILY!" Poppy yelled, loud as she could. "DID YOU HAVE FUN WITH METAL BAT'S BAT?"

Lily looked like she wanted to die.

"Wait, Metal Bat's here?" Child Emperor asked, looking up from his ice-cream. "And… is that Demon Cyborg? And Tornado? Why are there so many S Class heroes here?"

"Pretty sure I saw that King guy before, too…" Deputy muttered. "He was watching a hentai…"

"Why'd you steal my bat?" Badd asked Lily, glaring at her.

"Well, I didn't _steal_ it," she giggled, nervously. "I borrowed it without your permission…"

Poppy face-palmed.

"Master," Genos turned to Saitama. "For some reason, there are three other S Class heroes here."

"Huh," Saitama shrugged. "This theme park must be pretty popular."

"Lily, did you really steal Metal Bat's bat?" Fubuki asked her assistant.

Lily was on the ground now. "M-Maybe…"

Tatsumaki rolled her eyes. "Who cares? It's just a stupid bat."

"How 'bout I use it to bust yer head open?" Badd asked her, grounding his teeth.

"Big brother," Zenko grabbed his arm, "don't."

Poppy was giggling into her hand.

"Oh no," Deputy turned pale, attempting to hide behind Child Emperor. "It's that Metal Bat guy… I can't handle him."

"Trust me," Child Emperor deadpanned, "you're not alone there."

"Why are you here?" Genos asked Tatsumaki and Metal Bat, arms crossed.

"You too?" Badd snapped. "Ya wanna go, cyborg sucker?"

"I am not here to fight," Genos replied. "I am merely curious."

Tatsumaki glowered at him. "None of your business, bolt brain!"

_Man_, Saitama thought. _Why are S Class heroes so aggressive with each other? _

Lily hid behind Fubuki. She really wished she could go home.

"Was King really watching hentai?" Child Emperor asked.

Deputy blushed. "I don't know… it looked like it."

The kid frowned. "No way someone like him would be watching that stuff. You probably saw someone else that just looked like him. Though, why they would allow someone to watch hentai in public, I really don't know."

"Child Emperor is over there too," Fubuki spoke up.

"Are you kidding me?" Tatsumaki snapped. "This is MY day! All of you should go home!"

"You don't own this theme park!" Badd roared.

"Come on guys," Child Emperor held up his hands. "Enough of this. We don't want to accidentally destroy this place."

"I wanna go home..." Lily whimpered.

"Aren't ya that guy from IRIS?" Metal Bat asked Deputy.

Deputy tried to hide behind Child Emperor, which was so pathetic it was hilarious.

"Man, this place is a rip-off," Saitama said. "That floss was way too expensive! Genos, we should go to the supermarket near my apartment."

"You as well, Baldy?" Tatsumaki raged. "Get lost, you egghead! Bald! Boiled egg!"

"I actually want to go home," Lily muttered.

"Me too," agreed a person that climbed out of a trash can.

Meanwhile, King actually was watching hentai... because, well, it's a fanfiction. Just accept it.

* * *

**A/N: This is probably the most chaotic chapter I've ever written... but I had fun with it lol. **


	25. The date

"So, yer gonna be back by five?"

Lily nodded, blushing as she stared at Badd. Poppy and Zenko stood between their older siblings. They were in front of the busy mall, ready to go shopping.

"Yep," Lily replied, shaking. "5! Or maybe 4:59! Hahaha!"

Lily internally face-palmed. _What are you doing, you idiot? _she thought. _He probably thinks you're some kind of psycho!_

"See ya then," Badd said, lightly punching Lily on the shoulder, causing her to go scarlet. He kneeled down, kissing his sister's forehead. "Call me if you need anythin', okay, Zen?"

Zenko smiled at her brother. "Okay! Bye, big bro!"

He waved and walked away, bat over shoulder. Lily was still trembling.

_Oh my God…_ she thought. _He touched me. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy-_

"Lily?"

Lily was zapped out of her thoughts by her sister.

"Huh?" she asked. "Oh, right, shopping!"

Poppy shook her head. "Sis, why don't you just confess to him?"

"C-C-Confess?" Lily spluttered, almost dropping her staff. "What do you mean?"

Poppy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Lily went red again. "I… I can't confess to him! He's an S Class hero, he's older than me, he's kinda scary, he… he probably thinks I'm weird and annoying…"

Zenko gasped. "Poppy! Imagine if our brother and sister got into a relationship! We'd be like…"

"... real sisters," Poppy realised, eyes lighting up.

"Sisters!" they chanted, jumping up and down. "Sisters!"

"No no no," Lily babbled. "I can't… I can't!"

"Yes, you can!" Zenko retorted. "I mean, you're only three years apart in age, right?"

"Mama…" Lily muttered.

Zenko gasped again. "I just got a great idea!"

"Oh no…" Lily muttered.

"What is it?" Poppy asked.

"We should set up our brother and sister on a date!" Zenko exclaimed.

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!" Poppy cheered.

"THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA!" Lily moaned.

"Sisters!" Zenko and Poppy chanted. "Sisters!"

_This can't get any worse…_ Lily thought, crawling into herself.

"I know," Poppy said. "Let's tell Blizzard of Hell and the Blizzard Group about it!"

Lily pulled her hair. "AUGHHHHH!"

* * *

_What is this… _Lily thought, staring at herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a long, glittery, cyan sleeveless dress with a diamond pendant around her neck. (She wasn't sure if it was a real diamond). Her shoes were white flats, and her hair was braided with lily flowers.

"Why did I agree to this," she moaned.

"You look great, sis," Poppy told her, giving her a thumbs up.

"Oh my God," Lily stared at her. "Poppy, what the Hell."

Poppy was wearing a ridiculous, obviously homemade camouflage outfit. Her face had been covered in green paint, and she was wearing a green beanie.

"It's my secret agent outfit," Poppy informed her.

"I'm wearing it too!" Zenko said, appearing next to Poppy. Just like she said, she was wearing the same ridiculous outfit.

"For the love…" Lily trailed off. _Metal Bat is going to kill me_, she thought.

"Lily!" Fubuki dramatically pushed the doors open, Mountain Ape and Eyelashes behind her.

"Miss Blizzard!" Lily gasped.

"You look wonderful, Lily," Fubuki told her, with a small smile. Mountain Ape and Eyelashes had prideful tears welling in their eyes.

"T-Thank you," Lily blushed.

Fubuki put her hand on Lily's shoulder. "Now, it's time to go on your date. The Blizzard Group will be backing you up."

Tears appeared in the corner of Lily's eyes. "Oh, Miss Blizzard…"

"Don't cry, dear," Fubuki sighed. "You'll ruin your make-up."

"Um," Lily coughed. "Sorry, Miss Blizzard."

Lily, the two young girls, Fubuki, Mountain Ape and Eyelashes got into the Blizzard Group's car and drove off. The whole way there, Zenko and Poppy chanted about being sisters. Fubuki, meanwhile, talked about recruiting Badd into the Blizzard Group.

Lily just stared out the window, feeling more and more nervous with every second. What if Badd thought she was stupid? What if he already thought she was stupid? What if she did something stupid?

Eventually, the car arrived at a fancy-looking restaurant. The Blizzard Group members (aside from Lily) clambered out, and headed inside the pristine building, listening to orders from Fubuki. Poppy soon followed, leaving Zenko and Lily behind.

"Big bro will be waiting at the front of the restaurant," Zenko told Lily. "Good luck… big sister!"

Lily blushed once more as Zenko ran off, chasing after Poppy. Lily forced herself to stand, shakily grabbing her staff. She stepped out of the car, and walked towards the front of the restaurant. It sure was beautiful, shimmering with golden doors and shiny windows. She felt like some kind of peasant standing nearby it.

"So, this the place my lil' sis was talkin' 'bout?"

Lily tensed up, noticing Badd standing beside her. He had his usual pompadour, but he was also wearing a black tuxedo and black slacks. As usual, he had his metal bat over his shoulder.

"I… I guess so," Lily coughed, awkwardly. "Um… I like your… suit!"

"My sis made me wear this stupid thing," Badd told her, pointing at it. "Somethin' or other 'bout lookin' nice."

"Ha ha…" Lily coughed. "Yeah. Ahaha."

_He looks so hot in that_, she thought. _Nonono Lily stop thinking-_

"So, we goin' in or what?" Badd asked.

"Uh, yeah!" Lily chirped. "Yeah, yeah! Let's go in!"

The two headed inside the restaurant. It was extremely posh and proper, with a lavish red carpet, tables covered in white silk, and fancily dressed people. A waiter in a white tuxedo came up to the duo. Lily almost spluttered, realising it was Eyelashes in disguise.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Table for two?"

"Yep," Badd replied.

Eyelashes lead them over to a table by a window, which was overlooking a scenic river. On the table beside them were Fubuki and Mountain Ape in disguise, wearing large hats and sunglasses. They were pretending to read the newspaper, but briefly glanced up at Lily and Badd as they sat down. As well as them, there were two large plants behind Badd's chair. Lily spotted two youngsters in 'secret agent outfits' hiding behind them, and tried not to burst out laughing.

"Here are the menus," Eyelashes handed Badd and Lily some pristine sheets of paper. "I will be back soon to collect your orders."

He walked away, leaving the teens by themselves.

Badd leaned back in his chair, glancing over the menu. "Better be some good food here, or I'm leavin'."

Lily just laughed awkwardly, staring at her own menu. She felt the heat rising as her eyes scanned the golden text. She wasn't sure if she was calm enough to even eat anything.

"The hell is a 'creamy bruley'?" Badd asked, frowning at the menu.

"You mean crème brûlée?" Lily asked. "It's, uh, basically custard with burnt caramel on top."

Badd scrunched up his nose. "Is it good?"

"It's okay, I guess," Lily shrugged. "I'm… not a big fan of custard, but… you can have it if you want."

Badd tch-ed, reading the menu again. "The hell… hey, they got mochi here… and gold leaf? The Hell is that?"

"Edible gold," Lily replied.

"You can eat gold?" Badd asked, sitting up.

"Yep," Lily said, quickly.

"Pretty expensive," Badd scoffed, looking at the menu again. "Must taste good."

"Actually, from what I've heard…" Lily coughed, "it doesn't really taste like anything. It's just for the aesthetic appeal."

"Pfft, what's the point of that then?" Badd asked. "Why would ya spend 4000 yen on some crap that doesn't even taste like anythin'?"

"Yeah…" Lily agreed. "It does look nice, though."

She heard a faint giggle from one of the plants, and another furiously shushing them.

Badd turned around. "The Hell was that?"

Lily began to panic. "Uhhhhh-"

Eyelashes returned before Badd could get up. "May I take your orders?"

"Just gimme yer best udon," Badd told him.

"Um…" Lily coughed. "I'll have the special soba noodles, please."

Eyelashes bowed. "Of course."

He walked away, leaving the two alone again.

"Ya heard somethin' just then?" Badd asked. "Sounded like gigglin'."

Lily shook her head. "No, I didn't hear anything…"

Fubuki and Mountain Ape shifted uncomfortably.

"Whatever," Badd lounged back once more. "Udon better be good."

"Yeah…" Lily coughed. She stared at her hands, as the two were caught in an uncomfortable silence. Fubuki and Mountain Ape began making wild gestures at Lily, while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

"Um…." Lily breathed in. "So… how's life?"

_Oh my God,_ she mentally face-palmed. _I can't believe you asked that…_

"Alright," Badd replied. "Same old shit."

"Must be hard… being an S Class hero…" Lily commented, scratching her head.

Badd shrugged. "Pisses me off when they call me out for long-ass meetings or when I'm hangin' out with my lil' sis. Y'know how many of her piano recitals I've had to miss 'cause of that crap?"

_He seems more upset about not getting as much time to spend with his sister than anything_, Lily thought. _She really does mean everything to him… she's probably the entire reason he even came at all... _

"You know…" Lily gave him a small smile. "You're a really good brother." She looked away. "I wish… I wish I had the same relationship with my sister that you have with yours. But…" She frowned. "Metal Bat-sama, can I… tell you something?"

The plants rustled, while Fubuki and Mountain Ape turned to stare at Lily. There was a tense silence.

"Go ahead," Badd told Lily.

"I'm… I'm a coward…" Lily admitted. "And I'm not a good sister, either. My whole life, I've been… running away from looking out for Poppy. I was so scared of outlash from my mother that I busied myself with jobs, just to get me away from my responsibilities. I joined the Hero Association to try and feel better about myself, that I was doing something positive in the world, but in reality I've just been… a coward. I've been hiding. And look what happened. My little sister turned into a monster, and it's all my fault. I realised my mistakes too late. I'm trying to fix our relationship, but there's so much bitterness and negativity that it's hard to connect with her. Our relationship is broken into a million pieces, and it's all my fault.

She wiped her eyes. "Do you know what I really admire about you and your sister? You're so brave. Your sister is a million times braver than I am. She's the one who inspired me to save my sister. If she hadn't been there, Poppy and I would both be dead. Even after Poppy hurt Zenko, Zenko still wanted to help her. And you… you're amazing, Metal Bat-sama. Not just because you're an S Class hero, but because you're such a good brother. You'd do anything for Zenko. You even told off my mom, something even my dad couldn't do. My whole life is changing for the better because of you and your sister. Same with Poppy. I get to live with Fubuki-sama and see my dad, and Poppy gets to stay friends with Zenko. I don't have to worry about my mom anymore. I'm even in the top ten of Class B, something I never dreamed of achieving.

"That's why… I'm… I'm really grateful to you. Thank you. You saved my life. It's not perfect, but it's better than it was before. I mean, over all of this time, I've been really grateful to meet you, and I've… I've… kind… I've kind of fallen in love with you. I mean, you probably just see me as some weird Class B kid. That's fine. That's okay. I don't know. I'm fine with being 'just friends' as well, if you're okay with that. If we're even friends, I don't know how you see me... I… I just… I love you, Metal Bat-sama!"

There was a silence. Even Fubuki and Mountain Ape were still.

"Ya talk a lot," Badd told Lily, after a while.

Lily blushed. "Sorry, Metal Bat-sama… I kind of started rambling…"

"So, yer into me?" Badd asked.

"Um…" Lily coughed. "Maybe…?"

"Tch," Badd stared at the table. "Yer not the first, kiddo."

Lily was about to reply, but Eyelashes returned with the food on steaming plates. Everyone was glowering at him.

"Um…" Eyelashes coughed. "Enjoy your meal!"

He walked off in a rush.

"Heh…" Lily awkwardly stared at her soba noodles. "Um, looks tasty!"

Badd picked up his chopsticks. "Hey, Lily."

Lily perked up. "Huh? What is it, Metal Bat-sama?"

"Call me Badd," he told her.

"Oh, uh, of course!" she fumbled with her chopsticks.

There was another silence.

"Hey, Lily," Badd pointed at her with his chopsticks. "Yer a weird kid."

"Oh…" Lily said, looking down. "Sorry."

"Didn't say that was a bad thing," Badd replied. "Yer alright. I'm not into ya, but yer alright."

"I see..." Lily coughed, slightly disappointed. "So, are we… friends?"

"Guess so," Badd said, giving her a small smile.

Lily turned bright red, while her eyes watered in happiness.

"AWW C'MON, I WANTED THEM TO KISS!"

"ZENKO, SHHHH!"

Badd whipped around, staring at the plants. He pulled them apart, revealing Poppy and Zenko kneeling down.

"Aw, phooey." Poppy groaned.

"The Hell are you two doin' there?!" Badd demanded. "And what in the Hell are you wearin'?!"

Fubuki stood up, taking off her disguise. "I suppose that's enough."

Badd stared at her. "The Hell? Yer here too?"

"This was… slightly planned…" Lily admitted.

"Planned?" Badd asked. He glared at Fubuki. "Ya tried to set us up?"

"Actually, it was us, big bro!" Zenko cheered, grabbing Poppy's arm. "Poppy and I want to be sisters!"

Poppy nodded enthusiastically.

Badd's anger dissipated. "Aw, Zenko, ain't I enough for ya?"

"Of course you are, big bro," Zenko said. "But I want some sisters too!"

Badd pulled his hand through his pompadour. "Ya damn kids…"

Lily blushed as she looked away. All in all, this date had been successful.

"No one's going to eat the food?" said a person in a trash can. "Oh well, guess it's mine…"

* * *

**Welp, this story's been going on for a while now right? I'm thinking about what I want to do for the finale, but I can't decide. Do you guys want something action-packed, or something more slice of life, like a party? We'll see. Please leave suggestions! **


	26. Extra chapter: Encounters with a hero

**A/N: So this is just an extra chapter about some of the minor characters. No real plot or anything, just wanted to give some insight for them. Hope you enjoy.**

**In other news, the finale is a WIP. We're getting closer and closer. Hope you're ready... **

* * *

She was known as 'the girl who never spoke'.

Not once had the girl spoken. In all the years at her high school, she hadn't uttered a single word. Even during roll call, she would raise a hand instead of speaking. When teachers called on her she did not answer, or she wrote her answer down on paper.

No one knew why she acted like this. Some suspected she was deaf. Some suspected she was doing it for attention. Others thought she had a disability of some kind, or severe social anxiety.

Of course, that never mattered to a particular classmate of the girl. He didn't care that she never spoke at all; he'd still ask her for pencils or to repeat what the teacher said since he wasn't listening. Usually when he asked the latter, the girl would show him her notes.

This classmate wasn't her friend, not by a long shot (no one was, really), but he wasn't an enemy either. He didn't tease her or try to provoke her like other students. This kind of surprised the girl, considering the classmate was known for being a delinquent. Maybe he just didn't care. Or maybe it was because he was also a superhero and had better things to do.

The girl did want to talk to her classmate, eventually, but she never did. She almost felt guilty. She wanted to thank him for being such a great hero, or at the very least, not belittling her. But she never could.

Well. That was until one day.

Friday afternoon, and the girl was walking home from school. It was a quiet street in a serene part of the city, with only a few small businesses populating the street. Some of her fellow students were jeering at her as usual, but it was no different than normal. Rarely ever did monsters or criminals show their face around the street, thank the girl's luck.

"Where do you think you're going, bitch?"

The girl turned around as one of the school bullies approached her, her groupies behind her. They all looked like sweet little angels, but their hearts were as black as tar.

"You seriously didn't think we'd let you leave?" the bully jeered.

The girl didn't say anything.

The bully laughed. "How sad. Teach her a lesson, gi…"

The girl covered her ears as the bullies suddenly began screaming and running away. She frowned in confusion, when a shadow appeared over her head. Trembling, the girl turned around, only to come face-to-face with a hideous monster.

It was some kind of black, scale-covered reptilian being that towered above her. She avoided its red eyes and gleaming teeth, her blood going cold. It let out a deep roar.

"Pathetic human," it hissed. "You are all worthless beings! You will be the first to feel my fury!"

It swiped her with its claws, sending her into the ground. She clutched her shredded school uniform as blood pooled out. She coughed up more of the red liquid, her vision going in and out. She weakly got up onto her arms, tears dripping down her cheeks.

_No_, she thought. _I never even got to say goodbye… Mom… Dad… I'm a failure… _

The monster appeared above her. She couldn't even look up.

"Die!" it boomed.

_I'm so sorry… _

"Not so fast, dickhead!"

The girl dared herself to look up, hearing a loud CRASH! The monster wasn't there anymore. Standing in its place was a teenage boy with a metal bat in his hand. He was glowering at the corpse of the monster.

Her classmate.

"Serves ya right, ya nasty bastard." he spat.

The girl blubbered some incoherent words. "Ba… ba…"

"Huh?" the boy turned around, noticing the girl on the ground. "Whoa, shit! Didn't even see ya there! You okay?"

He kneeled down to examine her for injures, but she suddenly flung her arms around his neck (despite it hurting her arms).

"Thank you!" She chorused. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Uh, yer welcome," the boy replied, awkwardly. His tone changed. "Can you let me go already?!"

"Sorry," the girl said, backing away. "Sorry! Really sorry. Sorry! Sorry! So sorry. Sorry, uh, sorry! So-"

"I get it!" the boy yelled. "Yer sorry! Calm the Hell down!"

The girl looked away, and started crying.

"Oh, c'mon," the boy grunted. "Don't start cryin' on me. I don't have time for this, I gotta pick my sis up from school!"

"Sorry," the girl whimpered. She cried harder.

The boy sighed. "I'm just gonna call an ambulance for ya, okay? Yer gonna be fine, so just… stop cryin'."

She kept crying anyway. Her saviour called an ambulance.

"Sorry," she whimpered, once he'd put his phone down. "I just… thought I was gonna die… no one's ever… really been nice to me before, my parents… my parents treat me like… like a burden, and…"

"I was just doin' what heroes do," the boy told her. "Though, we're in the same class, right? Yeah, yer that chick that never talks."

The girl stared up at him. "That's me…"

"What's yer name?" the boy asked. "Can't keep callin' ya 'the chick that doesn't talk' or whatever it is. Too long."

The girl coughed. "It's Luminare…"

The hero offered her a small grin. "Call me Badd."

* * *

Deputy literally wanted to be anywhere else. If Satan himself crawled out of the ground and asked for his soul, Deputy would've given it without hesitation.

You must be wondering where on Earth Deputy is that is making him feel this way.

We call this 'school', my friends.

Child Emperor had convinced Deputy to start attending school, but he was already regretting his choice. Just standing outside the building and watching students go in and out made him want to crawl into a hole and stay there. The thought of interacting with another kid his age…

His only friend over the past few years had been Ohcysp, who wasn't exactly the greatest person alive. He certainly wasn't a role model in any way, shape or form.

His parents hadn't been much better. They acted like he didn't exist for the most part.

Deputy didn't have much faith as he strode into the school. He tried to avoid staring at the other students at all possible. He'd never been a fan of making eye contact. Every time he tried, he'd just start freaking out.

"Hey, don't I know ya?"

Deputy looked up, and faced his worst nightmare.

_Oh crap, it's that Metal Bat guy…_ he panicked, gazing at the scowling hero. _Holy shit, I didn't realise he'd be at this school! _

"Hey," Metal Bat waved his hand in front of Deputy's face. "You there?"

Deputy literally ran in the other direction screaming, leaving Metal Bat very confused. Deputy snuck into a random classroom, falling to his knees and panicking behind the teacher's desk. His breathing spiralled out of control.

_This was a huge mistake_, he thought. _Oh God, what have I done?! _

"Hey, are you okay?"

It belonged to a teen girl. She was wearing a jacket over her uniform as if she was trying to cover herself. As well as that, she was located in the corner of the classroom, doused in shadows.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Deputy frantically apologised, calming himself. "I'm making a mess of everything again. I'll go now."

"It's okay," the girl told him, giving him a gentle smile. "I saw you were talking to Metal Bat."

"Y… Yeah," Deputy trembled.

"You're not the first to be scared of him," the girl sighed. "A lot of people here are absolutely terrified of him and avoid him at all costs. Some people think he's got it going on. Some think he's annoying and stupid. But despite that, most people respect him."

"What do you think of him…?" Deputy asked.

The girl sighed, a frown on her shadowed face. "I used to think… he was a tool I could use. But I learned the hard way that was not the case at all. Now… now I just respect him. He taught me that… I'm no queen bee. I'm just another face in the crowd, in the end."

"Oh…" Deputy said, staring at his shoes. "It's a long story, but… I used to work under a criminal boss, and Metal Bat almost killed me..."

"Are you a criminal?" the girl asked.

"I never wanted to be one," Deputy answered. "But my criminal boss was the only one who respected me. I didn't really understand that he was a criminal - I just wanted a friend. My parents don't care about me at all. They forced me onto the streets when I was a kid. My boss was the only one who ever cared about me. He's in jail now, but… part of me still misses him."

The girl nodded. "I… I can understand that. My parents don't care much about me, either. I wanted to feel special, so that's why I acted like a bitch. I wanted them to notice me, or _something_. At least… at least you're a good person now."

"And so are you," Deputy said, with a small smile. "Um… what's your name?"

"Carly," the girl answered.

"I'm Deputy," Deputy replied. The two shook hands.

"Cheers," Carly grinned, raising her hands, "to having our lives changed!"

Deputy nodded. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all.


	27. Changes

**IMPORTANT: WEBCOMIC SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER**

**Sorry y'all, I've been working on the finale for this story and others. Idk, I haven't been feeling as positive for this story. I even scrapped a whole chapter. At least it's nearly over, I guess. I hope you enjoy this chap and the upcoming ones. **

* * *

She could hear the yelling again. It was even worse than the previous nights.

She heard a few furious cries of 'YOU CAN'T' and 'I'LL KILL YOU!'. The entire week, her brother had been bickering with their grandparents. He refused to explain the details of their arguments, and simply told Zenko not to worry about it.

But he sounded so upset… how could she _not_ worry?

She whimpered, climbing out of bed. She crept to her doorway, peeking out into the dark hallway. She saw her brother's silhouette. His movements were harsh, from the looks of things. Cold, tight, and angry.

"Damn you," she heard him growl. "You'll never split us apart."

He then began to storm down the hall, figure slouched. He had never looked so… defeated. Like someone had sucked out his fighting spirit.

"Bro," Zenko reached out.

Her brother stared down at her, and his expression softened.

"Yer a sight for sore eyes, sis," he told her, kneeling down to her height. "But what are ya doin' up? You should be in bed."

"What were you fighting about?" Zenko demanded. "Don't give me that 'it's not important' crap. I want to know - for real this time!"

Badd scowled, looking away.

"Badd," Zenko glared at him. "Tell me!"

He turned back to her, tears in his eyes.

"Bro…?" Zenko asked.

"Sorry," he apologised, bringing her in for a hug. "Just… let's go to bed, and I'll tell you everything tomorrow. I promise."

Zenko clung onto his neck. "Okay, bro."

* * *

He lied.

When Zenko woke up, her brother wasn't there. She assumed he had already gotten up; it happened frequently, especially when he had hero duties.

So everything was fine, right?

She got up herself, and headed to the kitchen. There was a deliciously familiar scent coming from it. Her grandmother was making pancakes. Funny, since her grandmother usually only made pancakes on birthdays and special occasions.

"Hello, dear," her grandmother said, kindly.

Zenko sat down at the kotatsu, giving her grandmother a stare. Her grandmother handed her a stack of pancakes doused in golden syrup and fruit.

"Grandma…" Zenko stared at her grandmother. "I'm happy to see them, but… why are you making pancakes today? Is it someone's birthday?"

Her grandmother's smile faltered. "Can't we do something special today, dear?"

Zenko got an awful feeling. She suddenly realised how empty her brother's room had been, how his family photos had been taken down from the wall..

"Where's my brother?" she asked.

Her grandmother looked away.

"Grandma?" Zenko asked.

"Eat your pancakes, dear," her grandmother responded cheerfully, "or they'll get cold!"

"You're avoiding the question," Zenko said, giving her the stink-eye. "_Where's my brother,_ Grandma?"

Her grandmother sighed, deeply.

"Dear, we decided that… it might be better if your brother lived by himself for a while," she said, trying to keep her tone gentle. "You see, as a hero, he gets involved in a lot of dangerous situations, that not only put himself at risk, but you as well."

"What are you saying…?" Zenko asked, her eyes tearing up.

"Your brother doesn't live with us anymore," her grandmother said.

* * *

The next few days were Hell on Earth.

Zenko spent them pleading with her grandparents, demanding why they split her and her brother apart. They always said the same thing: it was for _her_ sake. It was to _protect_ her. And yet, they wouldn't even let her speak to him on the phone.

She glared down at her dinner. It was so quiet, so empty, so lonely. Food tasted bland and meaningless. She refused to eat, even when her grandparents pleadingly stared at her.

"Dear, you're going to get hungry," her grandmother told her.

"Don't care," Zenko huffed, crossing her arms.

"No need for that attitude, young lady," her grandfather scolded. "Be more polite."

"I'm not doing anything until you let me talk to my brother!" Zenko yelled.

Her grandparents sighed. They should have expected this.

"Zenko, you're constantly getting kidnapped by criminal organisations or attacked by monsters, _because_ of your brother," her grandmother explained. "Now that he is in City A, they will turn their attention over there! And plus… you need to grow independent from him and make some new friends. That Poppy girl isn't really the best choice."

"So you're not even going to let me be friends with Poppy?!" Zenko demanded, teary-eyed.

Her grandmother held out a hand. "Zenko…"

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, running away. She raced into her room, slamming the door shut. She sobbed into her pillow.

_Big bro…_ she thought, crying harder than ever before. _You promised they wouldn't split us apart…_

Tama mewed at her, curiously, her kittens following behind. Zenko gave her a pat, before turning to her kittens. Zenko picked up Lil' Badd, nuzzling her fur.

"You miss him too, huh, Lil' Badd…" she sighed. "I'm so sorry…"

* * *

"Zenko… are you okay?"

Zenko ignored Poppy's question, staring off into the distance. Zenko had been refusing to speak to Poppy for the entirety of the school day. Even as they were walking home, Zenko still wouldn't open up.

"Did something happen?" Poppy asked, gently. "Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I did…"

Zenko shook her head, looking away. Tears burned behind her eyes.

"Poppy…" Lily appeared, grabbing her sister's shoulder. She gazed at Zenko with concern. "Maybe we should leave her alone."

Poppy sighed, and followed her sister.

"It's my brother," Zenko whimpered. "My grandparents split us apart."

Lily and Poppy gasped.

"They did what?!" Poppy demanded.

"Oh, Zenko…" Lily kneeled down, holding out a hand.

Zenko began to cry.

"Oh, Zenko…" Lily cooed, giving Zenko a hug. "It's okay. Shhh."

"No, it's _not_ okay!" Poppy yelled, splitting them apart. "Screw your grandparents, Zenko! They can't keep you and your brother apart!" She pointed at her. "You've gotta go out there and bring him back!"

"Poppy, no!" Lily said, standing up. "That's an awful idea!"

"Oh shut up, Miss Boring," Poppy said, crossing her arms. "Zenko, you know I'm right, _right_?"

Zenko stared at her eyes. Then she looked back up, fighting spirit in her eyes.

"Yeah!" she cheered, pumping a fist. "I'm going to bring him back!"

* * *

It was late at night. Zenko crept down the hallway, double checking that her grandparents were asleep. She took a deep breath. She pulled out her phone, bringing it to her face.

"They're asleep," she whispered.

"Okay, good," Poppy replied, on the other end. "Now leave your house."

Zenko obeyed. She grabbed the house keys, and put Tama and the kittens in her backpack. Surprisingly, she was able to handle the weight. She shut the door, standing out in the dark. It was empty, cold, and seemed to go on forever.

"Where now?" she asked, still whispering into the phone. The dark was rather ominous, after all. Tama mewed, impatiently. Her kittens squealed.

"You're going to the train station, right?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah," Zenko said.

Poppy cleared her throat. "Okay, just take a left from your street…"

Zenko listened to Poppy's instructions, eventually reaching the almost deserted train station. She sighed, hoping she wouldn't have to wait long for the train to arrive. It was a chilly night, but it would be worth it. She hugged herself, standing underneath a lamppost. She cooed, trying to comfort Tama and her kittens.

"Hey, I'm kinda curious…" Poppy spoke up, "... why did your grandparents want to split you and your brother up?"

Zenko frowned. "They think… they think he's _dangerous_."

Poppy laughed. "Well, _of course_ he's dangerous. He's a Class S hero. Blizzard's pretty dangerous, and she's only in Class B!"

Zenko stared at her shoes.

"I guess…" she said. "But… my brother said that they never got over my parents dying…"

She perked up, as the train suddenly pulled into the station. Wind rushed through her hair.

"Train's here," she told Poppy. "I'd better-"

"Zenko!"

She jumped at the voice. She turned, and saw two familiar figures running towards her. They were her grandparents!

"Crap," she cursed.

"What's wrong?" Poppy asked.

"Zenko, please, wait!" her grandmother called out.

Zenko inched over to the train, reaching for the door.

"Don't go!" her grandmother yelled, panting heavily. "We're so sorry about your brother… but it had to be done!"

"Because of him, our daughter and son-in-law were killed," her grandfather added, his whole form shaking. "Their house was destroyed. Everything they had… it's all that accursed boy's fault. And the same is going to happen to you!"

Her grandmother held out her hand. "We want you to be safe, Zenko! So please… stay with us! We'll protect you. We'll give you a happy life!"

Zenko glanced back at her grandparents, tears in her eyes.

"You're wrong!" she shouted. "My brother didn't kill my parents. It was a monster! You're just blaming him because you're… you're _cowards_! And I hate you! The only one who can give me a happy life is my brother!"

And without another word, she jumped on the train.

"No!" her grandmother screamed, reaching out. "Zenko, no! Come back!"

"I don't want to live with cowards," Zenko spat, as the door closed. And the train began to move.

Her grandmother fell to her knees, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"She's just like her mother…" she laughed, painfully.

Her husband gave her a gentle hug as she continued to cry.

* * *

Poppy and Zenko were silent during the entire train ride. The only noises were the kitties in the bag. Zenko kept to herself, staring out the window. It was dark, but she could see the outlines of buildings, and the moon high in the sky.

She thought about her brother. Once she saw him, she was going to smack him hard for breaking his promise. And then she'd hug him and never let go.

She felt herself falling asleep. Her grandmother's tearful face appeared in her mind.

_No, she did this to herself,_ she thought. _She did this to us!_

She wasn't going to live with her grandparents anymore. She would live with her brother and the cats, in City A. She didn't want to live with those cowards.

Her eyes began to close as she leaned against the window.

_Big bro…_ she thought. _I'm coming._

* * *

Badd was not having a great time.

He currently lived in a private apartment, courtesy of the Hero Association. It was lonely, all by himself. He missed his sister more than words could tell. And the guilt for breaking his promise to her was immense.

And of course, the Hero Association was making him work to the brim. It was driving him bonkers. So, they thought they could give him twice as much work just because they gave him his own place?

During his time in City A, he was contacted by a new hero organisation known as the 'Neo Heroes'. They were upcoming, and proclaimed to treat heroes much better than the Hero Association did. He decided to give them a chance.

"Ah, Badd, also known as Metal Bat," one of the workers greeted him, as he strolled into the Neo Heroes' modern building. "Thank you for coming. We are honoured to have you here."

It was nice and large, offering private suites for any hero that stayed there. They also offered gyms, lunchrooms, and much more. Much more like an apartment complex than the Hero Association was.

"What's the deal with this place?" Badd asked.

"We are here to replace the Hero Association," the worker explained. "The Hero Association is incredibly flawed. They won't listen to their lower-ranked heroes, and they care more about wealth than people. We aim to make a fair and just system, that treats every hero with respect. We desire to treat you as people, not money-making schemes."

"Fair and just, eh?" Badd asked.

The worker nodded. "Yes! We also have a multitude of technology available, and-"

"If I join you guys, ya won't make me work every five seconds, right?" Badd asked.

The worker nodded again. "Of course. We understand you heroes have a life outside being heroes. So we would be very happy to-"

"Sign me up," Badd said, shaking his hand. "I'm in."

* * *

Zenko found it at last: the Hero Association HQ. It towered above her, piercing the sky. She approached the building, fists by her side. She saw where the apartments were held, in the upper district. She stood outside, eyeing them.

"Okay," she said, calling Poppy again. "Where's my brother's apartment?"

"That's weird," Poppy said. "He's not on here."

"What?" Zenko asked, frowning.

"He's not on the Hero Association's website anymore," Poppy explained. "What's with that? A glitch?"

Zenko felt tears building up behind her eyes.

"Zenko?" Poppy asked. "Are you okay?"

"I came all this way…" Zenko whimpered, "... and he's not here?"

She fell to her knees, and began to cry once again. She hugged her bag full of cats, tears streaming down her face.

"Zenko, hey…" Poppy tried to comfort her.

"I want my big bro…" Zenko sobbed.

Poppy made a noise. "Um… wait a second. Hold on."

She hung up, causing Zenko to cry more. She reached into her bag, petting Tama, who was frightened out of her mind.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Tama… I'm so sorry!"

Tama mewed, rubbing against Zenko's hand. It seemed she was sad too.

* * *

Badd could not sleep. He had an awful feeling brewing inside of him. Something he would refer to his _'brotherly instincts'_.

And with that, he got a phone call. He picked up the phone. It was from an unknown number. He breathed in, hoping it wasn't another IRIS situation.

"Who the Hell are you?" he demanded.

"Hi," Poppy replied.

"Is that you, Poppy?" he asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Yep," Poppy said, calmly. "I should tell you… your sister's in town."

"What?!" Badd stood up. "Where?!"

"Hero Association building," Poppy told him. "You-"

He hung up on her, practically jumping out of the window to find his sister.

* * *

"We should go…" Zenko said, standing up. "We have to find him…"

She walked ahead, keeping her head low. She clutched her bag like a lifeline. Tama mewed, staring up at her owner.

"Why wasn't he on the Hero Association's website?" she asked, staring at her cat. "Was it really a glitch?"

She saw something ahead. It was a figure, approaching her.

"What's that…?" she asked, trembling. "Is it…?"

She gasped, moving faster. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Big bro!" she shouted.

She reached the figure… but it wasn't her brother. It was a monster.

"No!" she screamed, taking a few steps backwards. "Leave me alone!"

The monster roared, lunging towards her. She closed her eyes, turning away. And then it exploded.

"Don't you _dare _try to interrupt our reunion, bastard," a familiar voice growled.

Zenko gasped, looking up. It was her brother. He was a bedside mess, but it was still him. He smiled at her, expression softening as it always did in her presence. They walked towards each other, focusing on nothing else.

"YOU BLOCKHEAD!" Zenko yelled, jumping up and slapping Badd across the face. "YOU PROMISED NO ONE WOULD SPLIT US UP!"

Badd looked at his shoes, whimpering. "I'm so sorry 'bout that, sis… it'll never happen again, okay?"

"It better not!" Zenko huffed, crossing her arms. "Now, take me home! We're all living in this new apartment of yours!"

"We're 'all'?" Badd asked, picking his sister up.

Tama mewed from Zenko's bag.

"You brought Tama?!" Badd gasped.

"And her kittens!" Zenko said, poking him in the eye. "They're all part of our family!"

"Ow..." Badd moaned, covering his eye. "Okay, I deserved that..."

Zenko snorted. She smiled at Poppy's image on her phone. She reminded herself to thank her later.

"The cats are our family, sis," Badd agreed, kissing Zenko's forehead. "... Hey, uh, so, I should tell ya I quit the Hero Association."

"Really?!"


	28. Eye of the Rose, part 1

**A/N: Happy April Fools... here's a legit chapter lol.**** Part 2 and 3 coming soon, keep your eyes peeled 0-0**

**And, uh, stay inside of course. **

* * *

They called him the 'Golden Child'. He walked down the hallway with an aura of confidence, and had a smile that could stop a heart. His slicked-back hair was golden, his skin was tanned, and his eyes were a brilliant blue. He was decked out in an expensive tux, covering his school uniform. He was glamorous, even more glamorous than a gold necklace. He was so glamorous the other children called him Goldy over his real name, Galreon.

But Zenko didn't care about that. The best part about him was that he was Sweet Mask's young cousin!

Zenko was surprised that he wanted to hang out with her of all people. Usually, aside from Poppy and Tareo, most people avoided her out of fear of her brother. But not Goldy. He walked right in front of her, with that heart-stopping smile.

"I heard you're a fan of my big cousin," he said, a glint in his golden eyes.

Zenko nodded, eagerly. "Y-Yeah, he's my favourite hero!"

"Well…" Goldy leaned in close. "I can get you a signed album. And an exclusive signed poster! But in return…" He blushed. "I'd, um… like to be friends with you."

Zenko raised her brow. "Be friends with me?"

Goldy nodded, still blushing.

"Okay!" Zenko grinned, almost instantly. "Let's be friends!"

* * *

During lunchtime, Goldy shared his expensive meat-filled dish with his new friend. Despite his flashy appearance, he was a surprisingly gentle and shy person. Generous, too.

"This is amazing," Zenko said, mouth full of food. "It must've cost a lot!"

"Hey, anything for my new friend," Goldy said, putting a hand behind his head. "I really like being friends with you. I know we barely know each other, but…"

Zenko nodded. "Yeah, I like being friends with you too! It must be amazing being Sweet Mask's cousin."

Goldy looked away. "I guess… honestly, I don't get to see him a lot. He's really busy." He put on his classic smile. "But when I do… he's really cool! He's almost like an older brother. Well, except when he's fighting monsters… then he's terrifying."

His face darkened over for a moment.

"Anyway, I'll get you the poster and album tomorrow," Goldy told her. "I did say I'd give them to you."

"You don't have to do that," Zenko waved it off. "I've already got a signed album and poster!"

"Then why'd you say you wanted another one?" Goldy asked.

"You can never have too much Sweet Mask merch," Zenko replied, intelligently.

Goldy laughed at that.

"Hey," Poppy said, walking over. She stared at Goldy. "What's he doing here?"

"He's my new friend," Zenko replied.

"Is he?" Poppy asked, sceptical.

"What's with that look?" Zenko made a face. "He's really nice!" She grinned, patting the ground beside her. "Come and join us!"

Poppy wrinkled her nose. "I don't know. He seems too… plastic. Like my sister when she wears her brassiere."

Goldy laughed, again. "Yeah, a lot of people think that. I guess I can see where it comes from..."

"Are you really even Sweet Mask's cousin?" Poppy asked, raising her brow. "Do you have any proof?"

Goldy nodded. "Of course I do! Look at these photos!"

He held out his phone, showing a slideshow of images of Goldy with his supposed older cousin.

"Hmm," Poppy was still sceptical. Sweet Mask and the boy did appear to be very close, judging by how Sweet Mask seemed casual in the photos.

"Maybe you're just jealous, Poppy," Zenko said, narrowing her eyes.

Poppy crossed her arms. "Jealous? Bleh, take a hike! I'm not jealous."

"Thaaaaaaaat's what a jealous person would say," Zenko retorted.

Poppy glowered. "Yeah, well… well…" She looked away, fists clenching.

"Come sit down," Goldy said, bringing back his heart-stopping smile. "I've got meat left to spare!"

Poppy tch-ed. She stormed off, her back hunched.

Zenko frowned. "What was with her? She's usually not that mean…"

Goldy shrugged. "Hey, maybe she _was_ jealous."

Zenko looked at her friend's retreating figure, and felt a pang of guilt.

Goldy gently touched her shoulder. "Don't worry about her. I'm sure she'll be fine. And besides, you've got me now, don'tcha?"

The smile returned, and he put his head on his shoulder. He looked like a golden kitty cat.

Zenko blushed, turning away from his golden eyes. "Yeah, yeah! You're right."

* * *

"Ya made a new friend?"

Zenko nodded up at her brother. He gave her a proud brotherly grin, as the siblings walked to their apartment in City A. Zenko still went to her old school, as she did not want to relocate to another one. She did not want to be away from her friends and classmates.

"Tell me 'bout 'em," Badd said.

"His name is Goldy," Zenko replied. "Well, his actual name is Galreon, but everyone calls him Goldy. And he's Sweet Mask's cousin!"

Badd raised his brow. "He is?"

Zenko nodded, eagerly. "Yeah! And he's really nice! He said he's going to give me a signed Sweet Mask poster and album!"

"Don'tcha already have a signed poster and album?" Badd asked.

"You can never have too much Sweet Mask merch," Zenko retorted.

Badd begged to differ, but he loved his sister too much to change her mind.

"So, this Goldy guy," he offered instead. "Didja just meet him today?"

"Yep!" Zenko chirped.

"And is he a monster?" Badd asked.

Zenko stared at her brother with a blank slate.

"C'mon, sis, don'tcha remember that whole Poppy thing?" Badd asked, squeezing her hand. "I'm not lettin' that happen again."

"He's not a monster, bro," Zenko said, squeezing his hand back. "I promise."

Badd still looked sceptical. Just like Poppy had.

"Alright," he finally said. "I wanna meet yer new friend, though."

Zenko groaned. "Bro, you're being overprotective again!"

* * *

The next day, Goldy pulled up to school in a limousine. He was surrounded by a crowd as he walked down the hallway. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of him. He spotted Zenko waiting, and gave her the Goldy smile.

"Zenko!" he greeted, walking over to her.

"Hi, Goldy!" she said, waving at him.

"For you, my princess," he said, handing her a bouquet of golden roses.

Zenko blushed, accepting them. "Wow… thanks, Goldy!"

Goldy's cheeks went pink. "So, you like them?"

Zenko nodded. "Yeah, I do!"

"Oh, good," Goldy chuckled, staring at his shoes. "Wikipedia saved me this time round. They're supposed to be nice gifts, ha!"

"Why'd you give me these?" Zenko asked, observing the flowers.

Goldy dug his hands into his expensive suit pockets. "Well… I wanted to give you a thank you present. For, uh, letting me be your friend."

Zenko grinned. "It's my pleasure, Goldy! You don't have to keep giving me stuff. The poster and album were fine."

Goldy blushed, playing with his hair. "Y'know, Zenko, you look really pretty today…"

Zenko flushed pink. "Pretty…?"

Goldy nodded. He flashed his grin. "Yeah. I think you're the prettiest girl in the whole school." He then went bright red. "I-I can't believe I said that out-loud…"

Zenko was as red as he was. "You really think so…?"

Goldy nodded, taking her hand in his. They stared at each other, completely red.

"Well, um," he coughed. "Let's go outside!"

* * *

"You play piano?" Goldy asked, eyes lighting up. "That's so cool!"

Zenko nodded. "Yeah! Do you play any instruments?"

"I sing," Goldy replied.

"You can?" Zenko asked, eyes lighting up. "Sing for me!"

Goldy cleared his throat, and began to sing.

"_Zenko_," he sung. "_You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Oooooooh. I want to hold your hand. Oooooh._"

Zenko went bright red. Goldy's voice was amazing! Smooth and powerful, just like his cousin. But cute and innocent as well. Her heart fluttered, as she stared into Goldy's eyes.

"Galreon…" she breathed, holding his hands.

Goldy blushed. "Oh, no, I got too cheesy again, didn't I…"

"Do you wanna come over to my house?" Zenko asked.

An apprehensive Poppy watched the scene and shook her head.

"Tch, just because he can sing…" she grunted. "Who's to say he's not a monster, just like me?"

* * *

Badd did not like Zenko's new friend.

The way the gold-clad boy was staring at her… he was not buying it. The golden locks didn't mean crap to him.

Badd glared down at Goldy as they stood outside the apartment. "So, yer my sister's _friend_, are ya? Don't get any ideas, or I'll kill ya."

Zenko sighed, stepping in front of Goldy.

"Bro, he's not going to 'get any ideas'," she told her brother. "He's just here to hang out."

"Hang out, huh?" Badd asked, glaring at Goldy once again.

"I promise, I'd never hurt your sister," Goldy told him. "Stick a needle in my eye."

Badd continued to glare at him.

"She's too young fer a boyfriend," he growled.

"We're just friends, bro," Zenko retorted. "Why are you assuming we're a thing just because he's a boy? I could be doing stuff with Poppy and you'd never know."

Badd went pale. "Are ya… are ya 'doing stuff' with Poppy?!"

"No, bro," Zenko rolled her eyes. "I was just saying…"

"Yeah, I get it," Badd sighed. "But still." He continued to glare at Goldy. "Ya make one wrong move, and yer gonna wish you were dead."

Goldy smiled, sweetly.

"Come on," Zenko said, grabbing Goldy's hand. She led him inside the apartment. Goldy looked around, eyes going wide.

"Wow, nice place," he marvelled.

"You're just saying that," Zenko blushed, grabbing his hand. "I'm sure you live in a penthouse!"

Goldy ran his hands through his golden hair. "Aw shucks, a 'penthouse' is an exaggeration…"

Badd continued to glare at the duo, arms folded across his chest.

"Um, your brother is staring at us…" Goldy said, flinching uncomfortably.

"Ignore him," Zenko replied, rolling her eyes. "He's just being overprotective."

She led Goldy up to her room. He gasped, staring at all her Sweet Mask merchandise.

"Wow, you really _are_ a big fan of my cousin," he said. He laughed. "He'd be really proud of you."

"Would he?" Zenko asked.

"Well, he'd be glad to have such a dedicated fan," he said. He blushed again. "But in all seriousness… thanks for inviting me over to your house. It really makes me feel… special."

"It's fine," Zenko grinned.

Goldy took one of her hands in his. He gazed down at her. He was half a head taller than her, so she stared back up into his blue eyes.

"I wish I had more friends like you," he sighed. "You're my first real friend."

"I've had trouble making friends as well," Zenko admitted. "Poppy was my first friend, and, um, she turned into a monster and tried to kill me."

Goldy raised his brow. "Are you serious?!"

Zenko nodded. "But she's fine now! Anyway, I like being friends with you too, Goldy."

Goldy's face lit up. He pulled her into a hug. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Thank you," he breathed, almost squeezing the life out of her.

Zenko returned the hug. She'd never had a boy hug her before, mainly because her brother would step in.

Speaking of her brother...

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOIN'?!" Badd demanded, shoving the door down.

"BADD!" Zenko shouted. "KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING!"

Badd stormed over to the two. His hands were wringing, like he was about to throttle Goldy.

"Bro, don't!" Zenko stepped in front of her new friend. "We were just hugging!"

"Huggin', huh?" Badd asked. "What if he's got somethin' up his sleeve?"

"Actually, I do have something up my sleeve," Goldy said. He got down on one knee.

Badd saw red. "DON'T YOU DARE-"

"Zenko… do you want…" Goldy breathed in. "... to go on a date with me?"

* * *

Child Emperor frowned, looking at the latest reports from the Hero Association's database.

"This is so weird…" he mused.

Deputy appeared, looking over his young friend's shoulder. "What's happening?"

"A lot of heroes have gone missing recently," Child Emperor explained. "Even some of the A Class heroes."

Deputy furrowed his brow. "Huh, that is weird… why do you think that's happened?"

"No clue," the young hero grunted. "Two of Atomic Samurai's disciples have gone missing too… it's obvious we're dealing with something really serious. Atomic Samurai is having a hissy-fit about it. We've gotta get to the bottom of this."

* * *

Goldy and Zenko walked side by side, sitting underneath a large cherry blossom tree. Zenko was holding some fairy floss. She gave Goldy a smile.

"I can't believe we're on a date…" Zenko said, taking a bite of the floss.

"I know," Goldy replied, his voice dreamy. "This is my dream come true."

"It is?" Zenko asked. "But we barely know each other."

"That's fine," Goldy waved it off. "I know you're the one. Trust me."

Zenko went red, grabbing his arm. "Goldy… I wish this could last forever…"

"Oh, it will," Goldy told her, giving her the grin. "I promise."


	29. Eye of the Rose, part 2

Badd absolutely did not approve of Goldy's relationship with his baby sister. Who did he think he was? Zenko was too young for any kind of romance. Not that she or Goldy were aware of that. They were being silly kids, but it still grated Badd's nerves.

_Once I get back, I'm gonna give him a talking to, _Badd promised himself.

He looked left and right, strolling through the dark streets. There was no sign of any of the heroes that had supposedly gone missing. He shrugged. No luck. The Neo Heroes were going to be disappointed for sure, but there wasn't much he could do. The heroes were simply... gone.

_Need to get home quick_, he thought. _Sis will be worried. _

He began walking, when he heard an eerie sound. A dark presence came creeping up on him from behind.

_Heh heh… you really think you can get between us? _

"Who's there?" Badd growled, turning around.

A form made its way out of the shadows. A sadistic grin was on its face. It was humanish, but its figures were hard to pinpoint. Aside from its horrifying grin, which made Badd clench his bat.

"What the Hell…" Badd trailed off. He held out his bat. "A monster?"

And then before he could blink, everything went black.

* * *

"Big bro?"

Zenko frowned, walking into the empty apartment. Her brother was gone. So was his bat.

Goldy appeared beside her, grabbing her hand. "Don't worry, Zen. He's probably just gone on one of his hero missions. He does that a lot, right?"

Zen. That was what her brother called her.

"I guess," she agreed, feeling comfort from Goldy's grip. "But he usually tells me before he goes somewhere. Or at least leaves a note..."

"Maybe he was too busy this time?" Goldy suggested. "Sweet Mask gets called away for hero stuff all the time. He's always busy."

Zenko frowned. "I guess I'll call him later." She crossed her arms. "That idiot."

Goldy just laughed, squeezing her hand. He gave her the infamous smile, but it wasn't as entrancing as it had once been. Zenko wasn't sure why. Something about it was almost… malicious.

_Maybe I'm just being paranoid_, she thought. _Yeah, I'm sure big bro is fine._

"What do you want to do now?" Zenko asked.

Goldy's face lit up. The maliciousness was gone; his face was kind again. "Let's go upstairs."

* * *

It had been a few hours, and Badd still wasn't back.

Goldy had been picked up in a golden limousine some time ago, leaving Zenko alone. She desperately missed her brother. While she was glad she moved away from her grandparents, at least living with them meant she wasn't completely alone when her brother wasn't around.

She spent some time playing with Tama and the kittens. They were all adorable, but she couldn't get rid of the looming feeling that something was horribly wrong. She placed Badd Jr on her lap, sighing deeply as she pet her. A bodyguard was hired to look after the kittens when Badd wasn't around, but he had been called away to deal with 'something important'. So it was just Zenko now, alone with the cats.

_Badd Jr's getting so big_, she thought, staring at the ball of fluff on her lap. _Big bro would be so proud. _

She decided to ring her brother. To her annoyance, he didn't pick up. She rung him a few more times, but no response. She slumped against the wall, still petting Badd Jr. She began texting Goldy, who said he missed her already.

_I miss you too_, she texted back.

_Hopefully we'll see each other again soon, _he texted.

She was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. She sat right up, eyes wide. She began to remember a memory with her brother.

"_Now, sis," he told her,_ "_if someone knocks on the door when I'm not home, don't answer."_

"_Okay,"_ _Zenko had nodded._ "_But what am I supposed to do when they knock? Ignore them?"_

"_Yeah, just ignore 'em," Badd had said._ "_If they're important they'll come back when I'm there."_

And Zenko had heeded his rule. That was why she stayed deadly silent, daring not even to breathe.

"Hey, you there, Zenko?" a familiar voice asked. "I need to talk about something important."

Zenko gasped. It was Child Emperor! She supposed she could make an exception for him, since she knew him.

"Coming!" she chirped, answering the door.

Child Emperor was standing there, Deputy awkwardly looming behind him.

Zenko glanced at Deputy. "Uh…"

"Long story short, he's my lab assistant," Child Emperor said, crossing his arms. "Anyway. We need to talk about something important, as I said." He gestured to the indoors. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," Zenko nodded, letting them in.

"Thanks," Child Emperor nodded. He glanced around the room, before turning to Zenko. "So, anyway, have you been keeping up with the news?"

"Not recently," Zenko shook her head. "We've been busy."

What, with helping the Neo Heroes and the kittens, Zenko and her brother's schedule had been full.

"So you don't know about the disappearances of some heroes," Child Emperor said, gravely.

Zenko paled. "Disappearances?"

"Y-Yeah," Deputy stammered. "A lot of heroes - A and S Class included - have gone missing recently. Those disciples of Atomic Samurai are some of the victims too, and they're high A Class."

"We've got a bit of a mystery on our hands," Child Emperor agreed. "We're trying to get to the bottom of it."

"That's awful," Zenko commented. She went tense. "But, um… why are you telling me about all of this?"

"Well, that's simple," Child Emperor said. His expression darkened. "Your brother's gone missing too."

* * *

When it came to investigating a mystery, Zenko had to admit she did not have much experience.

But she _did_ have a lot of experience in worrying about her annoying yet loving elder brother.

Alongside her was Deputy and Child Emperor, and another friend of hers.

"Hey," Poppy said, leaning against Child Emperor's desk. An invention of his groaned.

"Stop that," the hero snapped, shooing her off. "You'll make a mess."

Poppy glowered at him. "Hey, lighten up. I'm trying to look like the cool detective here."

Child Emperor glared at her. "This isn't a game, Poppy. People are going missing. They could be dead, do you understand?"

Poppy tch-ed, casually. "Yeah, I know. It sucks."

"Poppy!" Zenko cried. "My brother's gone missing as well! It's not funny!"

"So you care about my opinion now, huh?" Poppy asked, bitterly.

"What are you talking about?" Zenko asked. "Of course I care about your opinion!"

Poppy glared at her. "Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like it recently. You've been spending a lot of time with that Goldy guy. Plus, Lily's gone missing too, but no one seems to care about that."

Zenko frowned. "Well, that's because Goldy's my-"

"Guys, cut it out!" Child Emperor shouted, waving his hands. "We're supposed to be investigating the situation!"

Deputy kept typing on his computer. He felt extremely awkward, being a good few years older than the children, but also being a lot less mature.

"Um," he coughed. "So, uh, about the situation at hand…"

He showed footage of the A Class hero Spring Mustachio. He was walking down the street, minding his own business, when he simply… disappeared into thin air. Only a trail of black smoke was left behind.

Child Emperor narrowed his eyes. "What the Hell…"

"Did someone grab him?" Zenko asked.

"I've looked over this footage multiple times," Deputy told her, shaking his head. "No one else is there."

Poppy frowned. "You sure about that? Because it seems pretty obvious to me."

"What does?" Child Emperor asked.

Poppy stared at him. "Aren't you supposed to be an S Class hero? Look closer."

"And you're starting to act like Tornado," Child Emperor grunted. He stared at the footage. "Anyway, I don't see… wait… OH. Ah, it's in code. Deputy, how did you not notice that? That is very obvious."

Deputy made a face. "Sorry... I forgot to put on my glasses..."

"What did you see?" Zenko asked.

Then she noticed. In the background, at the beginning of the video. Signs that she didn't understand, but something she knew well.

She saw a figure dressed in gold.

Goldy.

* * *

"Me? A kidnapper? That's ridiculous!"

Goldy crossed his arms, glaring at the group. Child Emperor was in front, head titled.

"You're Galreon, right?" Child Emperor asked. "Sweet Mask's cousin?"

"Yeah," Goldy nodded. "But call me Goldy."

"Alright, _Goldy_," Child Emperor said, scowling. "If you're not behind all this, then what were you doing in that video?"

"That's not me," Goldy argued. "I'd never do something like that!"

Child Emperor raised his brow.

"I'm serious!" Goldy insisted. "I swear on my life, I'm innocent!"

Zenko nodded. "Yeah, there's no way he'd do something like that!"

Poppy had a scowl on her face. "I'm not buying it. Your boyfriend is a liar."

Zenko's cheeks burned. "B-Boyfriend?!"

Goldy turned to face her, offering an apprehensive hand.

"Uh…" he coughed. "Well, I kind of see you as…"

Zenko reached out as well, but hesitated.

"He's crazy, Zenko," Poppy said, scowling at Goldy. "Leave him to rot."

Zenko glared at her. "Poppy! Just… shut up!" She began to cry. "Just shut up, you monster! Why are you being so mean?!"

"Hey, uh, c'mon," Child Emperor awkwardly waved his hands. "Zenko, it's okay."

Goldy held out his arms, giving Zenko a hug. She cried into his shoulder.

Poppy tch-ed.

"Um," Deputy spoke up. "If Gal- uh, Goldy, really isn't the one in the video… who is?"

"Or _what_," Child Emperor mused.

"Who else could it be?" Poppy muttered.

"What's your problem with him?" Child Emperor asked, turning on Poppy. "You have some kind of grudge against him."

"She's jealous," Goldy stated.

"I am not," Poppy huffed, glaring at him. "I just... I just know you're bad news."

"You can't say things like that without evidence," Child Emperor told her. "On the other hand… the person in the video looks just like you, Goldy."

"It must be a coincidence," Goldy said, playing with Zenko's hair. "A monster who looks just like me!"

He sighed dramatically.

"We need to go on a date, away from these guys," he told Zenko. "They don't accept us. We'll go to Nezumi Sushi!"

"You're a monster, Goldy!" Poppy snapped. "Just like me!"

"I'm not a monster!" Goldy shouted.

"He's not," Zenko agreed. "And besides, monsters can be redeemed! You were redeemed!"

"No, Zenko, he's different," Poppy insisted. "He's not like me. He's crazy."

"You seem sure of yourself, Poppy," Child Emperor said, crossing his arms. "Why do you think he's crazy?"

"Because… we've met before," Poppy admitted.

Goldy grabbed Zenko's hand. "Poppy, don't start this. You said you'd never speak about it again."

"No, she needs to know the truth about you," Poppy said, glaring at him. "This can't go on any longer."

"The truth?" Zenko asked. "Poppy, what-"

Goldy suddenly led her away. He ignored Poppy's shouting.

"Hey, where are you going?" Child Emperor called.

"We need to talk privately for a bit," Goldy explained.

"Kind of suspicious," Child Emperor muttered, but Goldy ignored him.

"Goldy could be a monster," Deputy suggested. "I've heard theories that Sweet Mask himself might be a monster."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Poppy huffed.

"Tell us," Child Emperor stared at Poppy. "Did you really meet Goldy beforehand?"

"It was around a year ago," Poppy said. "But the funny thing was, he looked completely different than he does now. But I can tell it's still him. He's a shape-shifter. I can't forget that smile." She scowled. "He knew how I was angry about with my sister, and he wanted to help me get revenge, but..."

* * *

"... she turned me away," Goldy explained. "She was scared of me for some reason. I was kind of upset about it, but I never did anything to hurt her! I just got a bit mad, that's all. She's just overreacting. She was fine with it at first, but then she changed her mind, turning me away. Ironic, since she became a monster anyway, without my help."

"Is that the truth...?" Zenko asked, feeling her body go tense.

Goldy nodded. "Of course! And besides, I'm over her now. You're the one I want to be with… _forever_."

His eyes flashed red. Zenko took a step back.

"Forever?!" she asked. "We barely know each other!"

"That's okay," Goldy grinned. "Because I know… you're the one for me, Zenko. We'll be together… forever. No one will get in our way."

Zenko's blood ran cold. She stared into his blood-red eyes. And then she understood.

"What did you do to him?!" she demanded. "Where's my brother?"

"I had to make a few sacrifices," Goldy shrugged. "But it's okay. Now we'll be together, without any interruptions!"

"No!" Zenko slapped him away. "Bring Badd back!"

Goldy tilted his head. "Heh heh… not a chance. Not until we rule the world together."

And she screamed.

* * *

**A/N: I don't really like how this is turning out but I can't be asked to change it so... **


	30. Eye of the Rose, part 3

**A/N: WARNING: MANGA/WEBCOMIC SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER. **

* * *

"THE HERO ASSOCIATION HQ IS UNDER ATTACK!"

Child Emperor scowled into his phone, trying to calm the person on the other line. "There's no way. Metal Knight's defences-"

"They've been taken down!" the voice from the phone shouted.

"What?!" Child Emperor asked, eyes widening. "There's no way! What's attacking the HQ? Threat level God?!"

"That's the thing…" the voice became apprehensive. "We're not totally sure. The defences were suddenly taken down, and the building's falling apart..."

Child Emperor turned to stare at Poppy and Deputy.

"Child Emperor, you're our only hope!" the voice yelled. "All the other S Classes are fighting their own monsters!"

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Poppy asked, narrowing her eyes.

Child Emperor gritted his teeth. "Galreon."

* * *

When Zenko imagined falling in love, she did not picture it would be like this.

Of course, the whole wedding thing was kind of weird to her. Why did adults wear all those fancy outfits anyway? Love was so unusual.

Whatever the case, she definitely did not expect her love interest to be some kind of world-destroying monster.

Child Emperor put a hand on Zenko's shoulder. "Zenko, don't worry. We're going to figure this out, okay?"

Zenko nodded at him, staying determined. For her brother's sake. "I know we will."

"We need to think of a plan," the youngest Class S hero put his hands together. "But we can't do that while _he's_ attacking HQ. We'll need to distract him for a while. That's why I've got the perfect plan. Right, Deputy?"

Deputy nodded, bringing out a computer. On it was a detailed diagram of a large mecha suit that could fit a human inside. The suit had a series of weapons imbedded in its system. The suit was called 'Brave Giant'.

"Brave Giant should keep Galreon distracted for a little while," Child Emperor said. He clenched his fists. "I have a feeling he'll be coming after me next… I was going to leave to try and figure out a more detailed plan, but he'd up finding me anyway. So I may as well go out and keep him distracted for a little while."

"Wait…" Zenko went pale. "You're going inside the suit?"

Child Emperor nodded. "Yeah. To be honest… I don't exactly know how to defeat Galreon. Since he's managed to kidnap a lot of Class A heroes, your brother, _and_ get past Metal Knight' defences… he's nothing to scoff at. Plus, all the other S Class heroes are preoccupied. _I_ have to know what Galreon's deal is. That's why I'm going to have to figure out how to defeat him on the fly."

"You're sacrificing yourself," Poppy realised. She smiled, darkly. "Oh, how noble of you."

"'Sacrificing yourself'?!" Deputy gasped, standing up. "CE, are you crazy? You can't-"

"I'm not going to die," Child Emperor stated. He looked away. "Unless I have to."

Zenko felt her eyes water. "No… no one is sacrificing themselves! That _monster_ did something to my brother. I want to speak to him. I have to know _why_. I'll defeat him myself!"

Deputy's face shadowed over. "Yeah, I agree. I don't want to let anyone else get hurt. And especially not you, CE. You're my… my best friend. I don't want anything to happen to you."

His pale skin flushed pink.

Child Emperor stared at him. "'Best friend', huh…?" He sighed. "Look, Dep, I'm not going to die. I'll figure out a way to-"

"No," Deputy said, putting a hand on his heart. "I've got another way to get rid of Galreon. Something I think will give us at least a chance of winning. I was experimenting with it a lot when I was still working under Ohcysp, but I haven't brought it back… until now. Because I think now is the best time to use it."

"What are you talking about?" Child Emperor asked.

Deputy straightened his posture.

"Well, simply put…" he breathed in. "We send him to another dimension."

* * *

How many lonely years had it been?

Sure, Galreon was physically ten years old, but he strangely felt it had been much longer than ten years.

When he had first met God? It sure wasn't at the pearly gates. It had been in a dream. They were in an empty field of flowers. Nothing but the wind and dust as company. The sky was blue, the sun was out, but it was... so empty.

"_You're just like your cousin, young one," God had told him. "You're not human."_

"_I'm not?" Galreon asked, eyes widening. _

_The being that called itself God chuckled. "No… just like him… you're a **monster**."_

_Galreon's heart skipped a beat. "Big coz is a monster…? That can't be! He's so-"_

"_He became a monster through his own desire to be beautiful," God explained. "And you will too, Galreon."_

_Galreon stepped back. "No… I don't wanna become a monster!" _

"_You do not have a choice," God informed him. "The monster blood is inside you. It will consume you. Do not fight it, Galreon. Accept it, and let it consume you. Become the most powerful monster to walk the Earth."_

_Galreon fell to his knees. _

"_Monster…" he breathed. "No, I can't-" _

"_Destroy humanity," God told him. "You have no choice."_

And that was all. God told him he was a monster, and he accepted his fate.

He scowled, eyeing the mecha as it approached him. Brave Giant. Galreon knew the S Class hero Child Emperor was inside. He had handled all the other S Classes. Just one little boy left to go.

Part of him wondered where Zenko was, too. He couldn't get her out of his mind. She wholeheartedly consumed his thoughts.

Galreon narrowed his eyes, feeling his monster side take over. His skin was covered in web-like veins, and his eyes flashed a deep gold.

"Where's Zenko?" he asked.

Child Emperor's voice came out in a huff, and the mech straightened its posture. "You think I'm going to tell you that? I'm taking you out."

Galreon gritted his sharpened teeth. "We'll see about that."

He zoomed towards Brave Giant. It used a shield to defend itself. Galreon let out an inhuman roar, slashing the mech's metal outside. Child Emperor moved it back.

Galreon stepped back. "I bet you're trying to distract me while you think of a plan, aren't you?"

Child Emperor didn't reply.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Galreon chuckled. "Honestly, I was expecting better from you. Aren't you supposed to be one of the smartest heroes in the entire Hero Association?"

Child Emperor still stayed silent.

"I guess you guys are nothing but a bust," Galreon shrugged. "I'll be done with you soon."

Brave Giant sent out a barrage of missiles. Galreon avoided them all, making his way towards the mech.

"Welp, this is goodbye," Galreon chuckled, flashing his golden smile. "Lights out, little boy."

_We're the same age_, Child Emperor thought, scowling.

Galreon jumped onto Brave Giant. He swiped at it like a cat would. The mech groaned under his strength.

"Just get out here and we'll do this quickly," Galreon growled, glaring at Child Emperor through the mech's eye.

"I don't think so," Child Emperor said, suddenly smirking. "Deputy, now!"

All of a sudden, Deputy appeared, using a powerful net to hold Galreon down.

"What the Hell?!" Galreon rolled around, slashing the net. "Get this crap off me!"

Deputy ignored him. He held out a razor gun, which was glowing in all kinds of colours. Galreon gritted his teeth.

_They were planning this from the start_, he realised. _Child Emperor wasn't a distraction… he was bait. And I was hooked in._

Galreon stared at Deputy. "Heh, no way whatever that is will work on me."

"We'll see about that," Deputy said, his tone cold. "But we've got one more surprise in store."

Zenko appeared, rage in her eyes. Galreon felt his heart skip a few beats. His monster self almost vanished.

"My beloved princess," he reached out, smiling hugely at her. "It's so good to-"

"Shut it," Zenko snapped, crossing her arms. "You're a monster!"

"I love you," Galreon told her.

"Bring back my brother!" Zenko shouted, stamping her feet. "Now!"

"I want to make the perfect world for us, Zen," Galreon told her, standing up. "I want to be with you forever."

"Bring him back!" Zenko ordered.

"Why are you so obsessed with your brother?" Galreon asked, shoving the net off. "He's gone! He's never coming back!"

"No, that's not true!" Zenko sobbed. "And even if it was… I'd still hate you. I'll never love you, Goldy. You're sick."

"I'm Sweet Mask's cousin," Galreon replied.

"I don't care anymore," Zenko spat. "Bring. Badd. Back."

"He's. Not. Coming. Back." Galreon replied. "None of them are. They're all gone."

Zenko stared at Deputy.

"Do it," she told him, her tone emotionless. "Shoot him."

"No, wait," Galreon spoke up, holding out a hand. "Before you shoot… listen to me for a moment. Please."

"Shoot him," Zenko ordered.

"Wait, don't!" Galreon pleaded, sweating. "If you do, you'll never get to see your brother again!"

Deputy frowned. "But you said…"

"I was lying," Galreon admitted. "Okay? He's still alive. They all are. With God's help, I sent them to an alternate reality. But they still exist, and I can bring them back. I just didn't want his presence to distract you anymore."

"'Distract' me?!" Zenko roared. "You-"

"Enough of this," Child Emperor said, peering out of Brave Giant. "If you release Metal Bat and the other heroes right now, I'll give you a quick and painless death, Galreon."

Galreon laughed. "Quick and painless… eh heh heh. You act as if you can kill me. You've got nothing but a boy with a gun and you and your mech."

"That's what you think," Child Emperor said, a complacent smirk appearing on his face. "We've got plenty of back-up, don't you worry. I'm sure Tornado of Terror would be happy to send you flying to space. She'll come eventually."

Galreon tch-ed. "So you're just sizing me up, aren't ya… but I've got something in store too. You don't actually know what I am."

He turned back to Zenko. "I've met God."

"God?" Zenko asked.

Galreon nodded. "God itself spoke to me. It gave me a vision, Zenko."

* * *

"_Do I really have to do this?" Galreon asked, staring at the being in front of him. _

"_I will reward you," God promised. "You will find a lover, and you will live together in a beautiful world."_

"_We will?" Goldy asked, eyes widening. _

"_You will find a love interest," God continued. "And you and them will rule the world… together. You will never have to worry about monsters, or death. For you see, once the world is cleansed…"_

_Galreon clenched a heart over his fist._

"_Destroy the world…" he breathed. "But I don't even know who this lover is!"_

"_You'll find out soon enough," God said. "And when you do... you will finally be free." _

_"No more monsters?" Galreon asked._

_"Peace and happiness," God assured him. "Forever." _

* * *

"We're monsters," Galreon told Zenko. "Me and Sweet Mask both."

"Monsters?!" Zenko stammered.

Galreon offered a hand. "But it's okay. Because we'll be together, Zenko. We'll live in peace and happiness. Forever."

Zenko thought of the moments she and Galreon had shared. It hadn't been long, but they had been close.

"Don't listen to that guy, Zen," Poppy's voice grumbled. "He's nothing but a psycho."

"You're no better," Galreon told her.

Zenko fell to her knees. Tears burned behind her eyes.

_It was meant to be… _

"Don't you think the world is an awful place, Zen?" Galreon asked. "Haven't you and your brother suffered enough? Wouldn't you rather live in a happy world with no trouble at all?"

Zenko and Badd had suffered. The world had tormented them both.

"Join me," Galreon offered a hand. "Be my queen."

"Screw it!" Child Emperor shouted. "Deputy, use the gun!"

Deputy nodded, pressing a button on his weapon. It launched a wave of power towards Galreon. To everyone's surprise, Galreon shielded himself. He sliced the nets to shreds. He stood in front of Zenko, gently holding her arm.

"Come with me," he said, his voice sweet. "We'll live peacefully."

Zenko stumbled back.

"Dang it," Child Emperor cursed. "Try this!"

Missiles and lasers came racing towards the monster, but he avoided them all, focusing on nothing but Zenko.

"Join me," he encouraged.

Zenko looked away. "No. I… I hate you. You're unforgivable."

"You can learn to love me," Galreon insisted.

"I hate you," Zenko whispered. "This world is still better than you."

"Alright then, next level up," Child Emperor muttered. "Deputy, get Zenko away from him!"

"**SELF DESTRUCTION IN TEN SECONDS..**." Brave Giant boomed.

Deputy nodded. He headed towards the kids.

"I'll love you, no matter what," Galreon promised. He gave her the smile once more.

"**6... 7...**" Brave Giant boomed.

"Zenko!" Deputy cried out. Zenko reached for his hand.

"**5... 4...**" Brave Giant continued.

"No, stay with me," Galreon cried out, holding Zenko's other arm. Zenko glared at him, and kicked him in the crotch. She ran off with Deputy.

"**3... 2...**" Brave Giant said.

"NOW!" Child Emperor shouted.

**KABOOM!**

And then the earth exploded.

* * *

They were standing together at the end of time. Galreon held Zenko's hand, smiling at the sky. They were far away from the rest of the world. No one to bother them anymore.

"Where are we?!" Zenko demanded, looking left and right. "And how are you still alive?!"

"We're in a place away from the rest of the world," Galreon assured her. "No one to bother us ever again. I took you here after that explosion. Those fools really thought they won."

"No! Let me go!" Zenko screamed. But she couldn't pull away.

"You're suffering," Galreon told her. "But it's okay. Now we're here together. You won't suffer anymore."

"Sounds pretty manipulative if you ask me."

Galreon went pale. He turned around, facing a bald man in a yellow hero costume.

"Saitama!" Zenko gasped.

"What…" Galreon breathed, eyes flashing red. "Who the Hell are you?! How did you get here? No one can access this place besides me!"

"I saw you coming over here, so I followed," Saitama shrugged simply.

"That's impossible," Galreon shook his head. "You shouldn't have been able to see me!"

"Eh, you weren't that hard to miss to be honest," Saitama said, casually. "Anyway, why are you trying to romance this girl who obviously isn't into you?"

Galreon went red. "How dare you-"

"Saitama, he took my brother away!" Zenko sobbed. "Can you help me get him back?"

"Your brother, huh?" Saitama asked. "Yeah, sure. I can help with that."

Galreon glared at him. "You think you can defeat me, you bald fool?"

His face became covered in veins, and his teeth sharpened. He zoomed towards Saitama, roaring with everything he had.

Saitama punched him in the face. He dissipated into gold dust.

"Welp, that was anticlimactic," Saitama said. He turned to Zenko. "Now, we've gotta find your brother. He's that Metal Knight guy, right?"

"Metal Bat," Zenko corrected.

"Medal Bag, alright," Saitama said. "Is that him there?"

He pointed to none other than Badd, who was looking around in confusion.

"BIG BRO!" Zenko shouted. She raced over to Badd, leaping into his arms. Badd hugged her back, a smile lighting up his face. They were reunited at last.

"Man, now I've lost track of the sale…" Saitama muttered, scratching his head. "What is this place, anyway?"

He glanced at his phone. Genos was calling him.

"Huh," he thought. "Maybe this place isn't so far from home after all."

* * *

**A/N: I don't like how this came out but yeah... there's one more chapter coming, and then this story is finished. Man, so many fics finishing at once. Stick around to see the final chapter. :D**

**P.S - have you guys heard about the new live action OPM movie? I don't have high expectations but who knows, it might surprise us **


	31. Epilogue

**A/N: This is it, the final chapter. More at the end. **

* * *

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining on the denizens of the city as they went about their daily lives. Trains went by, birds flew overhead, and life was peaceful. Surely nothing could possibly-

"_Attention all citizens, an estimated dragon level threat has been spotted in the vicinity. Please evacuate the area immediately._"

Panic arose between the denizens. They heard the looming roars of a monster, and felt the ground shaking beneath their feet. A creature was making its way through the city, destroying everything in its path. Debris fell down from the sky, crushing everything below it. Screams were heard from every direction.

A lone girl tch-ed, brushing her long, black hair behind her ear. She wore a sailor school uniform that had been modified for easy movement. She sized the monster up, pulling out a metal baton. She casually approached the monster, ignoring the screams of the denizens.

The monster glared down at her. "A hero, eh? Heh heh heh. I know who you are. You're Metal Baton!" It laughed. "I bet you think you can take me down, little girl."

"I don't think I can take you down," Metal Baton argued. "I _know_ I can."

The monster laughed again. It raised an enormous foot, preparing to squish her. To its surprise, Metal Baton moved out of the way. She clambered upon a building, reaching the top in record time. She flicked her baton between her fingers, before making a lunge. She landed on the monster's arm.

"You're fast," the monster admitted, "I'll give you that. But you're not strong enough to stop me!"

Metal Baton raced up the monster's arm, reaching its head. She raised her baton, slamming it into the monster's head.

"AUGHHHHH!" the monster boomed. It tried to shake her off, but her grip was too strong. She stayed on, slamming the monster's head again and again.

"DAMN HERO!" it screamed, falling over. It slammed into the buildings with a crash, causing smoke and dust to rise. Metal Baton jumped off, landing in front of the monster's lolling corpse. Members of the public emerged from the shadows. Slowly, they began to clap and cheer.

"Metal Baton is so amazing!" they cheered. "She saved us once again!"

"Not bad," said a familiar voice.

Metal Baton turned around, facing her friend Poppy of the Double Edged Sword, a high-level Neo hero. She was leaning against her weapon in question, a complacent smirk on her face. She wore a hot pink shirt underneath a short white leather jacket, exposing her midriff. Her jean shorts reached to her knees, and were covered by a pair of white boots. Her long, strawberry blonde hair was tied into a bun. A poppy fastened the bun.

"'Not bad'?" Metal Baton asked. "Come on, it was better than that."

"Just ask your brother if you want praise," Poppy deadpanned.

Metal Baton laughed. "Point taken."

As much as she loved her older brother, he could certainly be… overbearing at times. He was a hero himself, and had been since Metal Baton had been young. He was a powerful hero, but many believed that his younger sister had definitely surpassed him. He was not jealous, though; in fact, he was so proud of his younger sister, he got over-emotional every time she did something remotely heroic.

Speak of the devil…

"ZENKO!"

Metal Baton turned to face her brother Metal Bat running towards her. He was a somewhat short man around the age of 25 with black hair slicked back into a pompadour, though some of his hair reached his shoulder. He wore a black leather jacket and skinny jeans. He carried his trademark metal bat in one hand, and wore a big grin on his face. He grinned up at her; despite being older, she had managed to outgrow him.

"You defeated that dragon level monster all by yerself!" he shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Sis, I'm so proud of ya!"

He enveloped her in a hug. Zenko returned the hug, sighing to herself.

"Bro, there's no need to cry every time I defeat a monster," she said. "I've done it so many times before."

"You've come so far!" Badd told her, gently gripping her soldiers. "God, Mom and Dad would be so proud of ya."

"Really?" Zenko asked, eyes filling up with pride of their own.

Badd nodded.

"So…" Poppy said, feeling somewhat awkward. "Did you see Deputy before?"

"Yeah, I saw him," Badd addressed her, his tone suddenly becoming nonchalant. "He was helping Emperor with a new invention."

"They still work together?" Poppy asked, raising her brow. "Thought he was a loner these days."

She had seen a picture of the man. Deputy was still tall and lanky, but his form had vitality. Child Emperor - now just Emperor - had grown into a relatively handsome young man, with a good figure but still the same snarky attitude.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Zenko faced Poppy. "How's Lily?"

Poppy shrugged. "She's okay, I guess. She's still doing her Blizzard business thing. I still need to call her."

"No need for that." Badd muttered.

He pointed to a branded limousine that was approaching. It pulled up beside the group. A tall woman dressed in a suit got out, her long, black hair tied into a ponytail. Her suit had a logo on the chest pocket: a picture of a snowflake with the words 'Blizzard Productions'. A blue streak ran through her hair, and a lily was holding her ponytail together. Her heels clicked as she walked over to the group.

"Sister," Poppy greeted, giving her sister a nod.

"Lily!" Zenko grinned at her.

"Ah, Poppy, I thought you'd be here," Lily said formally, crossing her arms. "You know what time it is."

Poppy mirrored her sister by crossing her arms. "I do."

"SHOPPING TIME!" they shouted at the same time.

"C'mon, we've gotta go now," Lily said, jumping up and down. "Fubuki says she wants us there in ten!"

"Tell her to take a hike," Poppy snorted.

Lily grabbed her sister's arm, ushering her into the limousine.

"Bye, guys!" Poppy yelled, waving and closing the door. "Hey, Zen, see ya later, okay?"

"Yeah, see you!" Zenko waved back, as the limo sped off.

"You've gotta get to school," Badd told his sister, putting a caring hand on her shoulder.

"I know, big bro," Zenko said, crossing her arms. "I've got a big test today."

"Yer gonna do amazing," Badd assured her. "Come on, let's go!"

* * *

"Man, I still can't believe nobody knows who I am."

Genos gave his master a glance as they walked along the street. Genos looked the same as he had years ago. Being a cyborg meant his aging process was… different from other people. Saitama, however, while still looking fairly young, had some mild lines on his face and bags under his eyes.

"Do not fear, Master Saitama," he said. "I am sure that-"

"Saitama! Genos!"

The two turned to face Zenko, who had discovered them in the store. School was finished, and she had raced to the store to buy some food, only to run into the master and disciple.

"Oh, hey," Saitama greeted. He whispered to Genos. "Who's she again?"

"Metal Baton, one of the Neo Hero Leaders," Genos told him.

"Isn't there another hero called Metal Bat?" Saitama asked. "Man, this is confusing."

"She is Metal Bat's younger sister," Genos explained. "We first met her eight years ago."

"Oh, yeah," Saitama nodded. "I still don't know what's going on."

"Can you guys quit talking about me in front of me?!" Zenko demanded.

Genos looked like he was about to protest, but stopped himself.

"Welp…" Saitama nodded at Zenko. "Well done on getting this far, kid."

Zenko smiled. "Thanks, Saitama. Is the group still meeting up next week?"

"No idea," Saitama shrugged. "You guys kinda just show up whenever you want. Though, King said he was bringing _Doki Doki Sisters 2 _tomorrow."

Genos didn't say anything, keeping his expression stone-cold. He was not nearly as aggressive as he had been eight years ago, having a much more calm attitude these days.

"Ugh, I hate that game," Zenko grumbled. "Whatever. I'll probably still come."

"Welp, we've got more stuff to do," Saitama said. "Come on, Genos. See ya later, Metal whoever you are."

They walked off, leaving Zenko frustrated.

_Will they ever remember my name?_ she thought.

She left the store, sighing to herself, when she saw a familiar figure. A man with white hair shaped like a wolf's ears, and yellow eyes. He was standing outside the store, bags under his eyes. He looked both old and young at the same time.

"... Garou?" Zenko asked.

Garou turned around, giving her a dead stare.

"Leave me alone, bastard hero," he muttered.

"You're still kicking, huh?" Zenko asked, brow raised.

Garou tch-ed. "No shit. Now beat it. I don't have time for you heroes."

"Funny, since you were hunting them all eight years ago," Zenko pointed out. "Hero Hunter Garou."

Garou gritted his teeth. "That was eight years ago."

"And you've been in hiding since," Zenko said, making a face. "Until now."

"Are you tryin' to start somethin'?!" Garou demanded, glaring at her.

"No," Zenko said. "As long as _you_ don't start something."

Garou tch-ed, storming off.

"By the way," he gazed over his shoulder. "Tell yer brother he's still an idiot."

And with that, he was gone.

Zenko sighed. "Old habits die hard."

She left to find her brother, and to save another life.

* * *

"Ah, you guys!"

Tareo grinned at Poppy and Zenko as they walked over to him. He was still an unsightly teenage boy, but had managed to mature emotionally, and was nowhere near as easily frightened as he had been as a child.

"Hi, Tareo," Zenko waved at him.

"How are the cats?" Tareo asked Zenko.

"They're good," Zenko replied. "Badd Jr had another set of kittens recently. Tama was so happy to see her grandkids."

"That's adorable," Tareo grinned. "My cat probably impregnated a ton of cats, heh… anyway, did you guys hear about Sweet Mask?"

"You mean…" Zenko paled. "He's dead now, isn't he?"

Tareo nodded, staring at his feet.

"Never liked him anyway," Poppy declared.

Zenko looked away. "I used to love him so much…"

Poppy patted her friend's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. He was a monster, after all. Like Goldy."

Zenko was about to nod in agreement, when she got a call from the Neo Heroes.

"Welp," Poppy stared at her. "Y'know what this means."

Zenko nodded.

"Let's do it." she said, baton over her shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: Well, this is it. It's the end of this story! I felt like this story deserved an epilogue so here you go. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did writing it. I'll state it now: there won't be a sequel. We are finished here lol. I don't know if I'll be doing any OPM stories excluding One Punch Simulator, I want to start a new fanfic for a different fandom so yeah. XD **

**Thanks for sticking around for the journey. **


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